Wisconsin Nature at Home: Everyone as Conservationist

In my previous post, I discussed the importance of knowing which watershed you live in. So we'll build from there.

I suggested that it's a worthwhile exercise to map out where your water goes starting with the rain which hits your roof. Falling rain encounters two possible surface types on its way down: permeable or impermeable. Permeable surfaces absorb rainfall like a sponge, impermeable surfaces like most roofs and pavement prevent the water from soaking in and force it to run off.

Run off is remarkably problematic. It's the root cause of a number of watershed problems, including: flash flooding and algae blooms.

Run off is increased by human development. Anytime construction creates new impermeable surfaces: buildings, roads, sidewalks, parking lots, etc; we've reduced the ground's capacity to absorb falling rain. In addition not all ground is equally permeable. Certain soil and plant combinations are more capable of absorbing rainfall than others.

Natural wetlands filled with reeds, willows, and tall grasses are incredibly effective at preventing floods and acting as buffer. Each time, these wetlands are drained, removed, and then built upon; not only is their significant risk that the newly constructed buildings will flood but the risk of flooding nearby also increases. Building in flood plains and wetlands should be highly discouraged. This is where you can get involved either by voting or raising concerns with local government decisions made by groups like planning or zoning commissions.

Run off that has nowhere to go allows for our streets to become rivers during significant rain events. And if we've had an above average rainy season, the limited permeable surfaces such as our yards can become super-saturated effectively rendering them impermeable as well.

The rain which falls on our property encounters other things along its journey. Rain which runs off the driveway may pick up motor oil, gasoline, sidewalk chalk or coolant. Rain which runs off our yards may pick up dirt, fertilizers, and pesticides. Fast moving water erodes our lawns, roads, and agricultural fields carrying with it a whole variety of debris and chemicals.

The clearest illustration of what the rain carries with it can be seen in the winter. The charcoal gray lumps of snow and ice along the side of the road show us exactly what kind of debris is carried in the watershed.

When too many nutrients like phosphorous from fertilizers end up in our lakes; our behaviors are to blame.

There are a number of simple things home owners can do in their yards to help prevent the problems caused by run off.

1. Avoid using fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn or garden. It will end up in the watershed.

2. Pick up after your pet quickly. Bacteria and nutrients from dog poop absolutely gets carried by the rain and snowmelt.

3. Check your gutters and downspouts, if possible make sure that they empty onto a permeable surface. For example, we had a gutter which emptied onto the driveway, so we extended it to empty into the yard instead.

4. Trap some of the rain on your property - rain barrels are great for this.

5. Make your yard more permeable. Turf grass has short roots which don't really help that much with water infiltration (remember not all plant and soil combinations are created equal). You can put in rain gardens near your gutters. You can let weeds like dandelions which have long tap roots grow in your yard. You can put in gardens with native trees, flowers, and grasses which have longer, complex root system to help make your yard more of a sponge. You can also look at replacing some of your pavement with permeable pavers.

A number of the actions you can take will cost little or nothing like stop using chemicals and let some weeds grow; others will be more expensive like replacing current pavement with permeable pavers. The take-away is that there are actions each individual can take. If together our neighborhoods spawn toxic algae blooms in the local lakes then together our neighborhoods can end them as well.

Reflecting on yesterday's post, when I think about the Bald Eagle eating fish from the neighborhood pond or the cranes raising their colts there; I hope that we are being good stewards and not poisoning the home we've left for them after building our neighborhood. Tomorrow, we'll look a little further downstream; for now I'll end with a few other pictures taken at our neighborhood pond.