Landscaping work can impact local rivers and streams in more ways than you might realize. Even routine lawn care and garden maintenance can cause fertilizers, grass clippings, leaves, and soil to enter storm drains that connect to waterways. With the following mindful landscaping tips, you can create healthy landscapes while also protecting clean water in rivers and streams.
Use the Right Amount of Fertilizer
Use the right amount of fertilizer to maintain healthy lawn and reduce impacts on waterways. Apply only what’s needing and follow product directions to avoid over-fertilizing. Also, adjust the timing of fertilizer applications to not apply right before it is forecasted to rain.
Why: When it rains, stormwater flows across lawns and carries excess fertilizer into storm drains that discharge into local rivers and streams. Fertilizers spike the stream with nutrients, feeding algae that throw off oxygen levels and harm wildlife.
Keep Fertilizer on Lawns and Out of Streets
Mindful fertilizer use also means paying attention to where it falls. Take care to keep fertilizer off sidewalks, driveways, and streets. Add a quick pavement check to your routine at the end of a job. If fertilizer lands on pavement, sweep it back onto the lawn. This attention to detail prevents wasting materials.
Why: When fertilizer and other lawn chemicals are on hard surfaces, they are more readily washed into storm drains and carried to streams.
Apply Herbicides Only When Needed
Similarly, apply herbicides only when necessary. Treat when there is a clear weed issue, avoiding routine, blanket applications. Use spot treatments to target problem weeds when possible. At the same time, focus on building healthy soil and dense lawn that naturally reduces weeds. For clients interested in more natural lawn care and who tolerate small weeds like clover, reducing or eliminating herbicide use could be an option.
Why: Like fertilizers, herbicides can enter storm drains and reach rivers and streams. When in the water, herbicide can hurt aquatic plants and wildlife. Spot treatments reduce chemical load and keep the herbicide where it is intended.
Handle Grass Clippings and Leaves Responsibly
Grass clippings, leaves, and other yard waste can also get into storm drains. Never blow clippings or leaves into the street or storm drain. This is illegal in most Illinois municipalities. Collect clippings, leaves, and yard waste to be taken to a composting facility or yard waste site.
Why: Blowing grass clippings and leaves into the street is illegal and can impact the environment. Yard waste can block storm drains, leading to residential flooding. Stormwater runoff also leaches nutrients out of yard waste, which then enter local waterways through storm drains.
Embrace Hardy Native Plants
There is growing interest in using native plants for environmentally-friendly landscaping. Native flowers, grasses, trees, and shrubs are adapted to our region’s climate, making them easier to care for once established. They also attract birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Their deep roots reduce erosion, soak up extra stormwater, and help the plant tolerate dry spells.
Why: Planting native plants helps protect rivers and support local wildlife at the same time. Their deep roots slow, absorb, and filter stormwater runoff. Because they are suited to local conditions, native plants generally don’t require fertilizer, helping to keep excess nutrients out of nearby waterways.
Correct Irrigation Systems
Inspect and adjust irrigation systems regularly to avoid overspray or overwatering. Check to make sure spray heads are pointed into lawn and gardens, not overspraying onto driveways, sidewalks, or streets. Set timers to water early in the morning so plants can soak up water before it evaporates in the heat of the day.
Why: Misaligned or excessive irrigation wastes water. Water that runs off the property can also carry fertilizers, herbicides, and soil into storm drains.
Better Landscaping, Clean Rivers and Streams
By taking a few simple steps, like using fertilizer mindfully, managing grass clippings and leaves, integrating native plants, and optimizing irrigation, you can maintain healthy landscapes while protecting clean water in local rivers and streams. Paying attention to these details demonstrates high-quality work and creates a positive impact on the environment.
