WATER

POLLUTION
ASSOCIATED WITH
LANDSCAPE HABITS

BY
SANCHANA PRAVEEN
S8 B-ARCH MESSOA

Water becomes polluted

from toxic substances
dumped or washed into
streams and waterways
and the discharge of
sewage and industrial
waste.
These pollutants come in many forms
organic, inorganic, even radioactiveand
can make life difficult, if not impossible,
for humans, animals and other organisms
alike.

Clean freshwater is
an essential
ingredient for a
healthy human life,
but 1.1 billion people
lack access to water
and 2.4 billion dont
have adequate
sanitation

The water cycle

How Does Your Lawn and Landscape Care Impact Water Quality
Take a minute to think about our water and how it
cycles. All the water we have is already here on earth
in some form. It is in the atmosphere; in icebergs; in
oceans, lakes and ponds; in plants and animals; and
in our soil at various levels.
Water falls as rain, which either runs off or soaks
into the soil. The water that runs off usually enters
some sort of surface storage area such as a lake,
pond, river or ocean where it is subject to
evaporation.
The water that soaks into the soil becomes
groundwater.
This water is available for our use as a shallow well
and feeds our lawns, crops and trees.
Certain soils allow groundwater to infiltrate deeper
into the soil and fill aquifers and deep wells.
The old saying what goes around comes around
certainly describes the water cycle.
So, you see what we do on the surface dramatically
affects our water both above and below the surface.

 When you fertilize your lawn, does the

fertilizer sometimes fall where it might
run into a stream?
When you spray your shrubs or garden, do
you mix only what you need? If you have
excess, how do you dispose of it where
does it end up?
Do you recognize that you probably have
hazardous materials in your home? How
do you properly dispose of them?
If your home is serviced by a septic
system, how can you keep it functioning
properly? Should you be concerned if it is
not?
Have you ever considered how you could
landscape your property to take advantage
of more drought-tolerant plants in order to
conserve water?

 when you fertilize your lawn, some fertilizer

may land on the sidewalk or street.
It is carried by the rain.
It then enters a small stream along with
fertilizer from other developments.

The small stream joins a larger one carrying

even more material from our county and that
stream enters the river carrying nutrients from
our own and other states

USE GOOD LANDSCAPE PRACTICES

By taking good care of your landscape plants,
you can reduce the need for pesticides that
could potentially endanger water quality. Good
planting and maintenance practices can also
promote healthy, attractive plants that can add
value to your property.
Mulch with shredded bark or other organic
material around planting beds, trees, and
shrubs. Mulch helps keep down weeds, protects
trees from lawn mower wounds, helps reduce
erosion, and protects roots near the soil surface
from hot, dry summer weather.
Prune dead or diseased branches out of trees
and shrubs.
Use the right plant in the right place. Placing
plants where they will do their very best can
help reduce pesticide needs. For example,
planting a rose in full sun with good air
circulation can reduce black spot.

KEEP YOUR LAWN HEALTHY

A properly maintained lawn looks beautiful and
also helps protect water quality. Healthy grass
needs less pesticide and will be better able to take
up fertilizer, reducing the chance of pollutants
washing through the soil and reaching our water
supplies.
Mow high and often.
Leave grass clippings on the lawn. They add
nutrients to the soil, lessening the need for
commercial fertilizer. Clippings also add organic
matter, helping to reduce runoff.
Fertilize cool-season grasses (Kentucky bluegrass,
fescue, ryegrass) in the fall. Fertilize warm-season
grasses (Bermuda grass, zoysiagrass) in the
summer.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF LAWNS AND

LANDSCAPES
Lawns and landscapes can be a source of pollution, but
well-designed and properly managed landscapes minimize
pollution potential as well as provide many benefits.
Planted areas green space protect the environment
by stabilizing soil to reduce soil erosion, slowing and
reducing runoff, filtering pollutants, and cooling the air.
When rain falls on green space, the amount of runoff
water is reduced through natural retention.
Rainwater soaks into planted areas where plant roots,
the soil structure, and soil microbes filter many
pollutants before they reach surface or groundwater.
Because of these many benefits, the use of green space
to manage storm water and reduce water pollution is on
the rise.
Municipalities refer to green space as green
infrastructure that uses trees and other vegetation to
manage and mitigate storm water naturally, rather than
through storm drains that discharge to surface water.

RAIN SCAPING: A BEAUTIFUL

SOLUTION TO WATER POLLUTION
Less water usage
Don't waste drinking
water.
Rain gardens capture
runoff and slowly filter
out common pollutants
and sediment.
Less storm water runoff-lower volumes of
erosion-causing runoff
and associated pollutants
running into our street.
With appropriate plants,
rain gardens provide
attractive habitats for
birds,
Rain butterflies
gardens and
insects.
beneficial
Rain gardens
are landscapes built to capture storm water.
Rain gardens use shallow depressions to slow down the water, spread
it out over an area and soak into the ground rather than channel the
water into storm sewers and ultimately into nearby waterways.

THANK YOU