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The storm drains along the curbs in your neighborhood DO NOT lead to the wastewater treatment plant. Anything entering those storm drains ends up in our streams and lakes without being treated. This means that any chemical dumped down a storm drain is polluting our water, as well as the waters of those people living downstream. If you would like to volunteer to stencil messages on storm drains, to inform people not to use the drains for chemical disposal, contact a member of the
Committee and ask about "Drain Stenciling."
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Less than 0.5% of the Earth's water is available for billions of plants and animals to use. The remaining amount is either sea water or locked up in ice caps or soil. Worldwide, the consumption of water is doubling every 20 years, more than twice the rate of increase in population. Generating an adequate diet for a human being requires 72,000 gallons of water per year. It takes 544 gallons to generate one dozen eggs, and 5,214 gallons of water to produce one pound of steak. It takes only 5 minutes to waste 50 gallons of water when a garden hose is left running.
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Freshwater animals are disappearing five times faster than land animals. The vegetation along rivers and streams provides habitat to more than half of our native bird species and to 80% of all neotropical migrating birds. More than one-half of the country's endangered species depend on rivers and streams. Dragonflies, black flies and many species of beetle that are essential parts of the food chain begin their lives in the water.
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Human beings require clean water for drinking, food production and to support daily activities. How dependent is our survival on clean water? A person can survive for one month or more without food, but only one week without fresh water. The human body consists of 2/3 water and water makes up 705 of the brain. We are currently using and polluting water faster than the earth can sustain. With the population of the United States expected to double within the next 50 years, our consumption will continue to increase.
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Use a broom or rake to clean up yard debris and place in trash bins, instead of using a hose to wash it into the storm drain. Lawn clippings and leaves should be placed in recycling containers, if available, or better yet, leave your grass clippings in the lawn. Follow directions carefully when using pesticides and fertilizers; don't over water or use these chemicals before an impending rain event. Overuse and misuse of pesticides and fertilizers pollute our waterways.
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Wetlands are called "the kidneys of the landscape" for the water purification functions they perform. More than 2/3 of the country's commercially harvested fish and shellfish spend parts of their lives in wetlands. More than 1/3 of the country's endangered species rely on wetlands for food or shelter. 22 states have lost more than one-half of their wetlands, while 10 states have lost more than 70% of their wetlands. Healthy wetlands devour mosquitoes by providing habitat to their natural predators as well as provide varying degrees of flood protection to flood prone areas.
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The average home contains more than 6 gallons of materials that are potentially toxic to life in waterways; such items include, but are not limited to cleaners, insect sprays and weed killers, all of which cause pollution when allowed to drain to a storm drain. Buy household products labeled "nontoxic" whenever possible. Clean up spills with an absorbent material such as kitty litter and check with your disposal carrier or a
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center (HHWCC) for disposal recommendations.
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We all live in a watershed - an area of land that all drains to the same waterbody. All of Tippecanoe County is in the Wabash River Watershed. This means that all surface runoff from the county ends up in the Wabash River, in addition to any pollutants it has picked up along the way. The Wabash River is a tributary of the Ohio River, which leads to the Mississippi River, which eventually empties into the Gulf of Mexico. What you pour down the storm drain in your neighborhood could be polluting the ocean....
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More than 100 million gallons of used motor oil is improperly disposed of every year. One pint of motor oil can create an oil slick one acre in size. Keep your automobiles in good repair and watch for possible leaks. Leftover or used fluids should be taken to your local
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center for proper disposal. Clean up spills with an absorbent material such as kitty litter and check with your disposal carrier or a
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center (HHWCC) for disposal recommendations.
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Clean out water-based paints from rollers, pans and brushes in sinks that drain into the sanitary sewer system. Use paint thinner to remove oil-based paint from brushes and rollers, then take the used paint thinner and leftover paints to a
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center, keep the paint for touch-ups, post it on the
Materials Exchange page, or give it to a friend.
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Today, 40% of the waterways in the United States are not clean enough for fishing or swimming. Only 1% of the country's streams are clean and flowing as freely as they were in colonial times. Indiana has 485 rivers, lakes and streams that are unfit for fishing, swimming or recreation. Nonpoint sources are the leading contributors of pollutants in America's rivers, streams, lakes and estuaries.
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Sedimentation is the nonpoint source pollution problem that affects the most waterways today. Erosion in logged areas can take place at 20 to 30 times the rate that it would occur in a mature forest. By using conservation tillage on agricultural fields, runoff and sediment loss can be reduced by up to 90%. By law, construction sites that are one acre or more must prevent sediment from being washed off the site and into our waterways. If you happen to notice a site that is not practicing proper techniques in retaining sediment on their site,
report them.
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Pick up pet waste as soon as possible and put it in the trash. Don't throw pet waste into storm drains or detention ponds or leave it on the ground to be washed away by the rain. Pet waste has harmful bacteria that can get into our waterways. Also, follow label directions for use and disposal of pet care products such as flea and tick powders or pet shampoos; they can be toxic.
