Most landlubbers do not realize the impact they have on water quality on a daily basis, since whatever stuff goes down a storm drain is out of sight and out of mind.
Excess water runoff from lawns can be damaging to the water quality because of what's in the liquid. Fertilizers, bug spray and stuff picked up along the water's journey to the bay and ocean are the culprits, and you can help.
How many times do you see a gardener fertilizing a lawn with pellets that are spraying out into the street — how many times do you see someone watering his or her lawn and the water is running off into the street?
The smart sprinklers will at least help with the over-watering. The controllers monitor the weather and the condition of your lawn by some space-age technology probably developed for the space shuttle.
Newport Beach has received a $300,000 federal grant for 500 homes in Newport Coast to install smart sprinklers on property that once was buffalo and cattle grazing pastures. Remember the buffaloes? Catalina Island still has buffaloes roaming the rock.
Water quality is very important, and I prefer voluntary, proactive approaches to legislative mandates to protect our waterways.
The rainy season is approaching, and this is bad news for Newport Harbor, as months and months of debris has been collecting inland, upstream of storm drain systems. The first heavy rain of the season means that Newport Harbor will be filled with junk and pollutants washed downstream.
However, you can do your part by picking up trash, not over watering your lawn, carefully washing your car, and not fertilizing excessively. Don't throw cigarette butts out your car window, and quit dropping bits of trash on the ground. A little effort will go a long way when you multiply it by the millions of people living in the southland.
For information, call(949) 644-3215 or go to www.cleanwaternewport.com.
