You can help Oxford keep the Tar River clean. You've already taken the first step by learning about the problem of pollution in stormwater. To take the next step you can:
- Adopt a couple of clean water habits at your home
- Adopt clean water policies in your business
- Tell other people about the sources of pollution in our stormwater
- Report stormwater problems when you see them.
Storm drains carry water and anything else directly to the creek or river with no treatment!
Reduce pollution from your home
Rule #1:
Never pour leftover chemicals, soaps, pesticides, paints, or other household liquids
on the ground or down the storm drain.
Many products can be difficult to dispose of safely. When in doubt, put it in the trash or in the sink, not in the street.
- Vehicle fluids - oil, brake fluid, antifreeze
Clean up any spilled fluids before they wash or drain into the street.- Get leaks in your car repaired when you find them.
- Keep the car tuned up.
- Dispose of all excess motor oil and antifreeze by recycling it at one of Granville
County's six solid waste convenience sites.
- Garden chemicals - pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers
- Follow instructions carefully so you only apply as much chemical as you need. (This will save you money also.)
- Identify garden pests so you can use the correct chemicals for the job.
- Ask your garden center about 'integrated pest management' systems to reduce the amount of
pesticide needed to keep your yard nice.
- Never apply fertilizer or chemicals to the yard when the weather calls for rain.
- Use mulch instead of herbicides to control weeds.
- Don't overwater your yard. Sprinkler water can work like stormwater - it
can wash yard chemicals into the strom drain.
- Avoid buying more chamicals than you will use. Excess hazardous chemicals should be taken to
a hazardous disposal facility, but there is currently no such facility in Oxford or in Granville County.
- Household cleaning products -
- Shop for non-hazardous cleaning products.
- Let soapy water go down the drain in the sink, not out into the street.
- Wash your car in the grass where the water can be absorbed, or at a commercial carwash. (Commercial car washes drain into
the wastewater treatment system.)
- Throw excess household cleaning products away in the regular trash.
- Paints, paint thinners, and solvents -
- Keep cans sealed tightly to avoid spills.
- For water based paints, clean brushes in the sink, not in the yard.
- Save used paint thinner. The paint will settle out and you can reuse most of it.
- To dispose of excess paint, leave the can open until the paint is completely dry. Then you can throw the cans in the trash.
- If you have full cans of paint left over, you can donate them to Habitat for Humanity.
- Concrete and mortar mix -
- Put leftover wet mix into the trash, don't rinse it in the yard or into the street.
- Pet waste and pesticides -
- Pick up after your pet - carry a plastic bag when you walk the dog to pick up the waste and throw it in the trash.
- Ask your vet for the safest products for treating your home and yard for ticks and fleas.
- Bath pets in a sink or over a drain to the wastewater system.
- Pour excess flea dip down the sink, not out onto the ground.
- Trash, litter, leaves, and grass clippings -
Although leaves and grass clippings are natural organic materials, when they wash into the river they can change the nitrogen levels in the water. - Keep trash cans closed so animals don't scatter the trash.
- Keep gutters and yard swept clear of leaves and grass clippings.
- Pick up trash and litter around your yard before it has a chance to wash away.
- Septic systems -
- Have your septic tanked pumped out every three to five years.
- Make sure your older systems is large enough to handle modern water demands.
- Never put chemicals down the drain into a septic system. They can seep into the groundwater.
Reduce pollution at your business
Businesses have a few additional things they can do to help reduce the pollution in Oxford's stormwater:
- Parking lots -
- Keep trash and litter cleaned up.
- Stabilize any areas that begin to erode. (Dirt can be a problem when too much of it washes into the river.)
- Vehicles -
- Use drip pans when changing oil. Recycle used engine oil.
- Keep vehicles well maintianed and tuned.
- Cover fueling areas to reduce exposure to rainfall.
- Sweep rather than hose down fueling areas.
- Wash vehicles in an area that drains into the wastewater
treatment system. - Garbage -
- Keep dumpsters closed.
- Do not dispose of hazardous waste or liquids in the dumpster.
- Keep trash picked up from around the dumpster.
- If the dumpster leaks, get it fixed.
- Storing chemicals -
- Keep an inventory of hazardous chemicals and materials.
- Know what you have and store it properly.
- Clean up any spills thoroughly.
- Erosion control -
Dirt washing into the creek can be very damaging. It eventually settles, filling up our reservoirs and estuaries with mud and silt. - Protect newly disturbed soils with straw or cloth cover.
- Repair any areas that are eroding by planting grass or other plants to hold the soil.
Links to More Information
-
15 Things You Can Do to Make a Difference in Your Watershed -
As part of the EPA's Watershed website, this list offers 15 ideas for personal action. It also offers many links to help carry out each of the 15 plans.
-
Sources of Stormwater Pollution -
The Clean Water Education Partnership offers a more detailed description of the sources of stormwater pollution and steps you can take to prevent it.
