Fact Sheet: Stormwater Pollution and Yard Waste
Home > Fact Sheets >
KNOW THE FACTS!
Tips for stormwater management on your property
DID YOU KNOW:
- Yard debris, including leaves and other organic plant material like shrubbery trimmings and grass
clippings, are a significant source of stormwater pollution. This debris can clog culverts, storm
drains, and pipes, causing flooding. - Debris can carry fertilizers and pesticides from your yard and deposit them in streams and ponds.
- Piles of leaves and grass clippings will overload a stream’s ability to process leaf litter, causing
nutrient pollution and oxygen depletion.
It is easy to do your part to protect our streams and the drainage systems leading to our waterways:
- Do not pile leaves or other yard waste near streams or drainage channels where they can blow or wash into creeks. Use designated leaf collection bags for curbside leaf recycling.
- Do not blow leaves or grass clippings off your property into streets, streams, ponds, or drainage swales.
- Recycle grass clippings and their nutrients on your lawn. Use a mulching lawnmower to recycle remaining leaves into your lawn in the fall!
- Compost leaves and grass clippings along with yard waste. Select a location removed rom streams, ponds, and wetlands.
Questions
For more information, contact our Water Quality Division at 513-946-7800.
Writing Credit: www.crcwatersheds.org
Illustration Credit on Print Version: University of Wisconsin-Extension
Download a printable version of this fact sheet here.
 |
250 William Howard Taft Road 2nd Floor, Cincinnati, OH 45219 Phone 513.946.7800 Fax 513.946.7890 hamiltoncountyhealth.org |