This month, Project Clean Water had the opportunity to share eight common stormwater pollutants and what we can do to keep them out of our waterways in the San Diego Union-Tribune:
1. Trash & litter: Make sure anything you throw away is securely disposed of in a lidded trash or recycling bin.
2. Irrigation runoff: Check your irrigation system for broken and misaligned sprinklers and adjust the timing to avoid overwatering.
3. Pet waste: Clean up after your pet and dispose of pet waste in a covered trash receptacle.
4. Large items: Take your large or bulky items to taking items to licensed drop-off zones or arrange a pickup from your local waste hauler.
5. Yard clippings and fertilizers: Collect yard clippings and dispose of them properly in a covered green waste trash can to keep them from causing drain blockages and washing into local waterways.
6. Car cleaning chemicals: Take your car to a commercial car wash whenever possible, and if you do wash your car at home, try to do it on a permeable surface with biodegradable soaps so that the runoff can be absorbed by the ground.
7. Cigarette butts: If you are a smoker, dispose of cigarettes properly in specialized cigarette trash receptacles.
8. Motor oil: Clean up oil spills with absorbent materials such as sawdust or kitty litter and then dry sweep it up to properly dispose of in the trash.
Read the full article here: www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/home-and-garden/story/2022-09-03/8-common-stormwater-pollutants-in-san-diego-and-how-you-can-help