Transcript Slide 1

City of Brunswick Public Education Series
GaNOI
2005
Use the navigation buttons to view the slide show.
Close this window to exit.

Resources Used in Creating This
Presentation
• U.S. EPA website at www.epa.gov .
• Australian Government / Geoscience Australia
•
•
•
website at www.ozestuaries.org .
Georgia EPD website at
http://www.dnr.state.ga.us/dnr/environ/techguide_f
iles/techguide.htm .
Center for Watershed Protection website at
http://www.cwp.org/nonstormwater_discharges.htm .
City of Griffin, Georgia Stormwater Utility website at
www.griffinstorm.com .
Resources (cont)
• Hamilton County Storm Water District website at
•
•
•
www.hamilton-co.org/stormwater .
Hernando County Public Works Department
website at
www.co.hernando.fl.us/npdes/citizenprevent.htm .
The Stormwater Managers Resource Center
website at http://www.stormwatercenter.net .
GaNOI for the City of Brunswick, Georgia, January
2005.
Stormwater Discharges
in
Brunswick
What Should We Know About
Them?
What Can We Do To Make
Them Cleaner?
We Live in a Beautiful and
Picturesque City
 From our historic buildings and Victorian
architecture;
 To our rivers, marshes, and magnificent
live oak trees;
 Our City is beautiful and pristine,
 And we need the help of all of
Brunswick’s citizens to keep it that way!
Our City!
As Responsible Citizens We Must
All Work Together to Keep our City
Clean and Healthy
 One of the ways that we can do this is
through good stewardship of our
stormwater system.
 To become good stewards we must:
 Become knowledgeable about stormwater
runoff.
 Exercise good sound landscape, building, and
lawn use practices.
 Learn the importance of keeping our lawns,
streets, & sidewalks clean.
Why Should We Be Concerned
About Stormwater Runoff?
 Stormwater runoff washes contaminants
from our lawns, streets, houses, and
sidewalks into our storm drains.
 In our coastal environment it can cause
unnatural freshwater flows, which can be
detrimental to coastal marine life.
 Contaminants in stormwater can give rise
to:
 Fish Kills
 Shellfish Closures
 Harmful algae blooms
What Happens When it Rains?
Types of Polluted Stormwater
Runoff
 There are 2 types of
polluted stormwater
runoff:
 Point Source Pollution:
• Industry
• Power Plants
• Sewage Treatment Plants
• Construction Sites
 Nonpoint Source Pollution:
• Lawns
• Septic Tanks
• Roads and Sidewalks
• Gardens
Chart Fromhttp://faculty.evansville.edu/
Where Can the Citizens of
Brunswick Make a Difference?
 Nonpoint Source Pollution
 Here are some examples of pollution
where we can make a difference.
Let’s Look at Stormwater Runoff
Contaminants
 These contaminants can be divided into 5
main classes:
1) Toxicants: These are substances derived
from household chemicals, petroleum
products, garden pesticides & herbicides,
and industrial by-products, and other
similar substances.
2) Nutrients: These come from fertilizers,
detergents, eroding soils, decomposing
lawn clippings, pet feces, and sewage
overflows.
Stormwater Runoff Contaminants
(cont)
 Five main classes of contaminants
(cont).
3) Pathogenic Organisms: Bacteria
capable of causing diseases such as
typhoid, cholera, and dysentery.
4) Litter: Plastic containers, trash, glass,
cans, etc.
5) Suspended Solids: Organic matter
including sewage, and soils from
construction sites, roads, market
gardens, and other sources.
Lets Examine the 5 Types of
Contaminants
 Common contaminants around your home.
Toxicants
 Herbicide and Pesticide Usage
 Do not use prior to high temperatures, windy
conditions, irrigation, or heavy rains.
 Maintain a buffer zone around wells or
surface water.
 Consider spot treatments instead of treating
the entire area.
 Clean up plant litter and remove weeds
before they go to seed.
Toxicants (cont)
 Herbicide and Pesticide Usage (Cont)
 Apply pesticides and herbicides only
when needed and in accordance with
the warning label.
 Recognize that no lawn or garden can
be completely pest, or weed free.
 Use natural alternatives that don’t
harm the environment.
 Check the local library or internet for
alternative methods.
Toxicants (cont)
 Household cleaner usage.
 Avoid pouring household cleaners down
the drain.
 Take them to the approved recycling
center.
 Limit the use of household cleaners
whenever possible.
Toxicants (cont)
 Automotive fluid usage.
 Never pour engine oil, antifreeze or other
automotive fluids into storm drains, or let
them drain on the ground or pavement.
 Store fluids in special purpose containers or
reuse old plastic containers.
 Recycle fluids at an approved recycler. Many
oil change and auto parts stores provide this
service.
Toxicants (cont)
 Auto maintenance (cont)
 Hot drain engine oil filters for at least
12 hours into a container.
 Repair fluid leaks as soon as possible.
 Don’t work on your car without
catching and retaining all leaking or
draining fluids.
Nutrients
 Fertilizing lawns and gardens
 Never over fertilize your lawn or
garden. Not only is it harmful for your
yard the excess is washed away into the
storm drains.
 Plant gardens and lawns with plants
and grasses that flourish with little
fertilization.
 Consider using alternatives such as
compost instead of fertilizer.
Nutrients (cont)
 When using detergents inside or outside
the house follow these guidelines:
 Make sure your detergent is biodegradable.
 Wash clothes or dishes when you can do a
full load to cut down on the number of uses.
 If washing a car, or objects outside wash
them on the lawn so that the detergent is
filtered through the ground instead of running
off into the storm drains.
Nutrients (cont)
 Keep lawn clippings, and leaves away
from the street and storm drains.
 Mulch your lawn using mulching blades to
keep from bagging your clippings.
 If you don’t mulch, or bag cut your grass
often to avoid leaving clippings that will be
washed away into the storm drains.
 Don’t blow off your driveway or sidewalk
sweep up the clippings, or leaves to keep
them from entering the storm drain system.
Nutrients (cont)
 Remove pet feces from your lawn, or
areas where the pet is walked.
 When walking your pet carry a “pooper
scooper” or a plastic bag to remove
waste. Dispose of wastes in the toilet
whenever possible.
 Pet feces can take up to 1 year to
disintegrate, and it is protein based
which can be detrimental to your lawn.
 Pet feces can carry diseases.
Nutrients (cont)
 Make sure your septic system is in good
working order.
 Do not wait until the septic system shows
signs of failure, inspect it annually and have it
pumped out at least once every 3 years.
 Keep records of pumping and maintenance,
and a map of the location of your system and
drainfield.
 Practice water conservation indoors, and
divert roof drains and surface water away
from the system.
Nutrients (cont)
 Make sure your septic system is in good
working order (cont)
 Use caution when disposing of
materials down the drain. Household
chemicals can kill the bacteria that make
the system work, and non-degradable
materials (cigarette butts, etc.) can clog
the system.
 Keep heavy equipment and vehicles off
of your drainfield.
Nutrients (cont)
 Make sure your septic system is in good
working order (cont)
 Don’t cover your drainfield with impervious
surfaces that can block evaporation, and the
air needed for effluent treatment.
 Be careful of chemical additives that are
often advertised for use as septic system
cleaners. There is little evidence that such
cleaners perform a useful function, and they
may instead exterminate the microbes
necessary for water treatment, resulting in
increased discharge of pollution.
Pathogenic Organisms
 Release of these organisms usually
comes from pet feces, or improperly
working septic systems.
 They can release bacteria capable of
causing diseases such as typhoid,
cholera, and dysentery.
 These are serious diseases, but they
are easily controlled through proper
septic system maintenance, and
through removal of pet feces.
Litter
 Items such as paper, trash, bottles, cans,
and other trash left lying in yards and
gutters. Litter is troublesome because it:
 Gets washed into the storm drain system,
and ends up in our rivers and creeks.
 These items can clog up drains, and because
they don’t break down or decompose over
time they require many man hours of
maintenance to remove.
 Clogged drains can cause localized flooding.
 These items are an eyesore and detract from
the natural beauty of our city, rivers and
waterfront.
Litter (cont)
 People are the source of litter.
 This makes the litter problem easy to solve if
everyone does their part.
 The City of Brunswick Code Enforcement
does issue citations for litter placed in yards,
gutters, and streets.
Suspended Solids
 Suspended solids are organic matter
from sewage, and soils from roads,
agriculture, and other sources.
 They can block light from reaching
submerged vegetation. As the amount of light
passing through the water is reduced,
photosynthesis slows down. Reduced rates of
photosynthesis causes less dissolved oxygen
to be released into the water by plants, which
can cause fish kills, and killing of aquatic
plants.
Suspended Solids (cont)
 Suspended solids (cont)

High Suspended Solids in a water body can
often mean higher concentrations of bacteria,
nutrients, pesticides, and metals in the water.
These pollutants may attach to sediment
particles on the land, and be carried into
water bodies with storm water.
Suspended Solids (cont)
 How can you help prevent this problem?
 Sweep up dirt and debris from around your
home instead of hosing it off, or blowing it
into the street and gutters.
 Landscape your yard to reduce the areas that
are covered with impervious surfaces.
 Landscape your yard to limit soil erosion.
 Make sure your septic tank is in proper
working order.
SummaryWhat Can You Do To Help?
 Ten things you can do to help!
1) Make sure all bare ground is covered or seeded.
2) Do not dump anything into storm drains. If you see
illegal dumping report it to the City of Brunswick’s
Code Enforcement Division (267-5586).
3) Be careful not to overuse fertilizers, herbicides, and
pesticides. Use alternatives when possible.
4) Compost your yard waste, sweep up grass clippings,
and tree trimmings from driveways and streets, and
never place them close to storm drains and ditches.
5) Clean up your pet waste, and flush it down the
toilet, or send it to the landfill in a garbage bag.
SummaryWhat Can You Do To Help?
 Ten things you can do to help (cont)!
6) Keep any oil, gasoline, antifreeze, and other
automotive supplies, and household chemicals
stored properly. Keep containers sealed tightly, and
recycle any used oils and fluids.
7) Never drop litter in the yard, or streets where it can
find it’s way into the storm drain system (including
cigarette buttes).
8) Refrain from washing your car on the street or in
your driveway. Wash it at the carwash, or on your
lawn to keep the water our of our storm sewer
system.
SummaryWhat Can You Do To Help?
 Ten things you can do to help (cont)!
9) Maintain your septic system properly.
Inspect it annually, and have it pumped out
every 3 years. Don’t use garbage disposals
with septic systems, and be careful not to
run chemicals into your drains that will
interfere with the septic treatment process.
10) Get involved with local volunteer groups
that promote conservation, and cleanliness
of our city.
End of Show- “Esc” or browsers back “” button to exit.