Additional Storm Water Information
 

The EPA developed the NPDES in order to comply with the federally mandated Clean Water Act. By creating nationwide standards, it allows businesses and individuals to know what to expect as minimum requirements. It also ensures that there is an equitable contribution by all those affected, and it increases cooperation and information sharing. There are many small things we can all do to help in reducing the potential for pollutants to enter our water. If you work with hazardous substances (oils, grease, solvents, bleach, detergents, etc...) make sure they are stored in non-leaking containers indoors, or under a cover if outside. Drive only as much as is necessary, and car pool when possible. The benefits of driving less go far beyond protecting our water resources, and most people focus on those aspects of driving. But it also puts our water at risk. Cars leak and leave substances on the road, new cars, old cars, it does not matter. Everything, from what comes out of the exhaust pipe to what escapes from the engine to the tire treads that slowly wear away on the roads, are left on the road until a good rains takes them off the road and directly into our streams. The one point of the Storm Water Program that be will stressed over and over it is that Storm Water is NOT treated. Some cities pre-treat their Storm Water, a very select few. None of the cities in Denton County treat their Storm Water. So, whatever the water picks up on its way to the stream eventually gets into our lakes. If you wash your vehicle, personal or county, make sure to wash it in a vehicle wash facility. These facilities are designed to catch and treat the water before it is released. If you do wash your vehicle at your house, pull it onto your lawn. The phosphorous from detergents causes harmful algae growth in our waterways which can result in areas of streams becoming effectively dead. This becomes a problem because the streams start "dying" at about the time when several of the fish, who use the streams for reproduction, begin to emerge as juveniles. It is not noted exactly when it first appeared, but every summer now at the mouth of the Mississippi River from Louisiana to the Texas coast a "Dead Zone" appears. The average area since 1993 has been 6950 square miles, or 4,448,000 acres, an area larger than Delaware, Rhode Island and Connecticut and 7 times larger than Denton County. Fertilizer runoff from America's Heartland is the primary reason the Dead Zone forms, but urban runoff constituents, especially detergents and fertilizers, play an integral role as well. Another lawn related activity is the application of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. It is important to follow the directions as they were developed to provide the most effective application regime. Twice the fertilizer does make your lawn twice as green, or decrease the time it will take for your lawn to become green. It means there will be more fertilizers in our streams when it rains and the extra fertilizer is washed off your lawn to somewhere else. Also, try to apply your lawn chemicals when you are sure it will not rain for sometime. Applying the chemicals to your lawn just before it rains does not increase their effectiveness by allowing them to penetrate into your soil. Instead, they are dissolved and again end up somewhere downstream from your lawn. The simplest of all things we can do to help prevent pollution is to not pollute. Do not dump used motor oil, antifreeze, gasoline, or other substances into the gutter or on your lawn. There are facilities where these things can be recycled, or otherwise disposed of properly. Do not set unused items, such as a furniture, mattresses, etc. on the side of a road somewhere. Again, there are places where these things can be disposed of properly. By placing them on the side of a road, or some other illegal dumping site, you are simply inviting them to be added to the amount of trash in your streams and lakes. If you see illegal dumping activities, or the results of an illegal dump, please contact me so that I can get the items removed before they pose more of a threat to our water resources. More information will be coming in the future about how to best handle items that pose a threat, such as where to take a used mattress or old computer monitor, to make sure they are disposed of properly and not left to leak harmful substances into water. So please check back. Thank you.