Summer Stormwater Tips

When excess fertilizer gets into our storm drain system and travels into our waterways and oceans, algae blooms can form resulting in a loss of oxygen in the water. Algae blooms pose a direct threat to aquatic animals, which need to breathe just like we do!

Animal waste contributes to surface and groundwater bacteria, so it is important to remove pet waste from your yard and pick up after your pet at the park or wherever the animal goes when you're out walking. Place bagged waste in the trash.

When mowing the lawn, use the mulching feature rather than bagging the clippings. Returning grass clippings to the yard keeps your lawn healthy and saves space in the landfill. In fact, the clippings contain valuable nutrients that can satisfy up to 25% of your lawn's total fertilizer needs. Grass clippings do not contribute to thatch since they are 75% to 85% water and decompose readily.

Replace a patch of high-maintenance lawn with low-maintenance native perennial plants. Plants native to Indiana thrive in our local soil and weather conditions, requiring less water, fertilizer, pesticide and attention. In addition, native plants with long roots slow the flow of stormwater, soak up and filter contaminants and hold the soil in place, thereby reducing erosion.