Stormwater management for our member communities in Lake County, OH
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In case of a stormwater related emergency, call local authorities or your road service department. Comments that endorse or support a political candidate, party, levy, or a commercial product and/or service, or that are discriminatory, harassing, abusive, threatening, vulgar, obscene, in violation of the law, or of a similar nature are not permitted and will be deleted.
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pa.water.usgs.gov/apps/nowcast/ URL: https://pa.water.usgs.gov/apps/nowcast/ Page Contact Information: Website Manager Page Contact Information: Website Manager Page Last Mo...
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A picture is worth a thousand words . . .
Very cool!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Sq4co1PBqgvWz7bw/?mibextid=WC7FNe
Rivers in the continental United States drawn in proportion to flow rate
We LOVE native plants!
Did you know that stormwater is not treated at a wastewater treatment plant? Anything that enters a storm drain or ditch at the side of the road flows directly to our rivers and Lake Erie, untreated! Today’s stormwater is tomorrow’s drinking water. We all need to do our part to prevent stormwater pollution. Love your Lake Erie! For more information visit www.lakecountyohio.gov/smd.
It's time to switch to more sustainable habits! Here are some simple changes to make, because even the smallest of changes can make a BIG difference 🙌
1. Using a reusable water bottle instead of plastic water bottles. If you choose to use plastic water bottles, make sure you recycle them!
2. Instead of bagging your fresh produce in the plastic bags from the store, use a mesh or tote bag from home!
3. Cut out single-use utensils. Instead of packing plastic silverware in your lunch, buy reusable bamboo silverware.
There are so many other sustainable changes you can make, especially in the summer, like opening your windows for fresh air instead of running your air conditioner or letting in natural sunlight instead of turning on your lamps. Make the switch to more sustainable habits today ♻️
Backyard Conservation:
Small changes in lawn care, landscaping, and soil health management practices can lead to local water quality improvements. Converting lawn areas to native trees, shrubs, rain gardens, wildflowers or prairie grasses improves soil health, increases rainwater infiltration and reduces pollution from lawn runoff. Rain Barrels improve water quality by reducing stormwater runoff and, therefore, reducing the delivery of pollutants to the storm sewer system.
Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm
Go native . . . enjoy nature. It's a win - win!
The U.S. water sector will require more than USD $630 billion over the next 20 years in order to keep pace with population growth, aging infrastructure, the effects of climate change, and accomplish the goals of the Clean Water Act. That figure — which includes solely capital expenditures and does...
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Most high school kids spend the summer hanging out with friends or working at a job, but there are a couple of students from the Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School who have found something much more fulfilling to do. Students Miguel Garcia, 16, and Caleb Shorts, 17, spend four days a week helping keep the waterways on the Cuyahoga River and the Inner Coast harbor clean of debris and trash. Read more through the link in the comments ⤵️
Don't be that neighbor!
Cool temperatures and no shortage of rain mean we can expect turfgrass to keep growing steadily into early June. When you mow your lawn remember that clippings contain nitrogen and phosphorous. We want to keep these nutrients on our lawns feeding the grass, not in the road or drains where they'll wash into waterways and feed algae! Too many clippings? Compost them in your yard or bag them with yard waste to send them away to be composted.
This June follow these lawncare tips to keep your landscape healthy and looking great:
• Aim your mower so that grass clippings stay on the lawn and provide nutrients for
the lawn.
• Mow high at 3-4 inches to encourage root growth and drought tolerance.
• Keep your mower blades sharp. Sharp mower blades leave the grass looking better
and make mowing easier on your mower and yourself.
Did You Know?
Mowing high to 4" can reduce the number of annual weeds in your lawn. Annual weeds like crabgrass have a harder time germinating under the shade of a longer lawn.
Yep!
Go ahead and get wet . . . explore and appreciate nature!
For our Willoughby Hills residents!
It's time to recycle your unwanted electronics! Electronic Recycle Day is this Saturday, June 1st, from 10am until noon at City Hall. As always, thank you GreenBoard for making this happen!
Electronic recycling is no charge except for the following items:
TV’s & CRT monitors $20.
Printers & copiers $10.
Kitchen, medical and refrigerant containing devices can not be recycled.
GreenBoard IT is a trusted partner to securely & sustainably dispose of your e-waste! We commit to sanitizing all data from any data bearing device. We also commit to a zero-landfill policy and only use certified vendors for final recycling. Our proprietary operations ensure components are properly sorted and recycled.
This Saturday, June 1st! Bring your household hazardous waste to the collection event at the Lake County Fairgrounds!
Did you know one drop of oil on water would cover about 720 square feet?
June 1st, This Saturday!
Bring us your Household Hazardous Waste at the Fairgrounds from 8-2:00pm!
Can't wait to see you there!
It’s American Wetlands Month! 💦 We're highlighting the H2Ohio initiative, which focuses on restoring wetlands and improving water quality.
Wetlands are beneficial year-round, but especially in the wetter seasons of the year. They act as runoff and storm surge sponges, capturing inflow and recharging groundwater stores.
Wetlands can be one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to significantly improve water quality by preventing the flow of excess nutrients into our waterways and lakes where they provide fuel for algal blooms.
Learn more about H2Ohio and wetlands here: https://bit.ly/40uy6jw
Picture: Brooks Park Wetland that captures water from Murphy’s Run before entering Buckeye Lake in Licking County.
LET'S TALK ABOUT CAR WASHING. DID YOU KNOW THAT WASHING YOUR CAR IN THE DRIVEWAY CAN HARM OUR STREAMS, RIVERS AND LAKES?
CAR WASHING AND THE ENVIRONMENT
When you’re washing your car in your driveway, the last thing you’re thinking of is how your wash affects the environment. Despite this, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently states that non-point wastewater runoff (like what happens when you wash your car at home) is the leading cause of freshwater pollution in the United States!
WASHING YOUR CAR AT HOME
Fresh Water Usage: When it comes to water usage, home car washing is very taxing on your local freshwater table. Studies show that a 5/8” hose running at only 50 PSI uses 10 gallons per minute. That means if you wash your car at home, you’re using about 100 gallons of water or more each time. If you wash your car once a week, you’ll use 52,000 gallons of fresh drinkable water in a single year. This is equivalent to about 1750 showers, and if you shower daily, that’s about 5 years’ worth of fresh water! Wow!
WASTE WATER
The chemicals people use when they wash their cars at home are another large contributing factor to environmental damage. Most people who wash their car at home in the driveway overlook where the wastewater goes, which is into our lakes, rivers and eventually, our oceans. Many soaps contain chemicals that harm fish and degrade water quality. When you wash your car in the driveway, everything you wash off your car and flows into nearby storm drains. These can run directly into lakes, rivers, or streams. Some soaps may also contain phosphates, which can cause excess algae to grow in local waterways. Algae look bad, smell bad, and harm water quality. As algae decay, the process uses up oxygen in the water that fish need to survive.
USING A COMMERCIAL CAR WASH
Fresh Water Usage: Being a very cost-conscious industry, combined with the regulations imposed by the EPA, commercial car wash operators use as little fresh water as possible to clean their customer’s cars effectively and safely. The car washing industry has made great advancements in the types of equipment we use, which has greatly reduced water consumption. Comparatively, a professional car wash will use less than half (about 30 – 50 gallons) of fresh water to successfully clean a vehicle.
Wastewater: Wastewater is also a large concern for commercial car washes. Responsible operators not only want to do what is right for their community but also want what is the most cost-effective means of conducting business. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA has very strict guidelines for many commercial businesses, including car washes. All wastewater must be sent to a sewer treatment facility, which is kept separate from untreated storm sewers.
Approved chemicals that are either treatable at these facilities or completely bio-degradable are only used in commercial car washes.
While some car washes use water reclaiming systems as a means of saving water, this is not always the case depending on water utility costs in various regions of the country. Commercial car washes have a series of large underground holding tanks to separate sediment in the wastewater before it is sent back to the sewage treatment facility. After filling these tanks, a hazardous material company must come to pump them out and properly dispose of their contents
With summer right around the corner, many homeowners are starting to garden and landscape around their homes. If you have a septic system, also known as a Home Sewage Treatment System (HSTS), it is important to take care to avoid damaging your system. For questions, please call: (440) 350-2543.
Where did the lightning bugs go?
Where did all the fireflies glow?
We get asked the question all the time - hey, why don't I see that many lightning bugs anymore? The simple answer is, maybe your community is no longer a good habitat for them. Before we get to the longer answer of why you're not seeing them anymore, you need to know how this beetle starts out life.
Fireflies lay their eggs in the ground where they then mature into glow worms. It's during this larval stage where they spend all their time eating other, tinier insects. Born and raised in the duff, they need the leaves that naturally litter the ground.
That’s why it's important to leave your backyards and street sides as untouched as possible every autumn to preserve the larvae and small insects living in the leaf litter. This helps to ensure a healthy, new year of fireflies.
Ok, leave the leaves, but what are some other ways to help?
đź’ˇTurn off outdoor lights in the evening. If you have inside lights on, close the blinds
đź’ˇPlant native plants
đź’ˇMow grass less frequently and raise the length of the cut to 4 inches
đź’ˇWhen leaves drop in the fall, rake them if you want, but keep them in your yard
đź’ˇUse non-pesticide solutions for insect control
Check out the comments for more ways you can help re-glow and re-grow the firefly population.
Photo courtesy of Jessica Lucia (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Mom is definitely disappointed that her balloon was found at the beach. She says to never release balloons because they will only end up as litter. and
Want to become a Master Rain Gardener? Check this out!
Are you looking for ways to support pollinators and attract more of them into your yard? Rain gardens provide wonderful habitat and resources for bees, butterflies, and birds! Learn how to design, install, and maintain your own rain garden by signing up for our Master Rain Gardener course. Our Summer in-person course at Mentor Beach Park Pavilion begins June 7th and registration is open now to residents and landscape professionals! Need-based scholarships available – contact us for details. Reserve your spot before the course is filled!
Find out more and register at neomasterraingardener.org
Painesville, OH
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Recently, the bioretention at the Concord Twp. Administration Building was buzzing with activity! Not only do these bioretention cells filter and absorb stormwater, but they also provide great habitat for our pollinators!
The Brightwood Lake dam removal project in Concord Township is underway! The dam was built in 1967, creating the 11.4 acre lake. The dam removal project will include restoration of 1,800 feet of Kellogg Creek, which drains to the Grand River. The riparian corridor, or the land right next to a river, will be vegetated with native plants. Complete dam removal is being completed to address dam deficiencies and to improve overall water quality in Kellogg Creek. We are very excited to watch this project progress!
Have you ever seen this in your yard or neighborhood? Did you think it was spilled motor oil or fuel? This oil-like sheen is actually not the result of stormwater pollution. The sheen is from naturally-occurring bacteria that feed off iron in the soil. To determine if pollution is present, poke the sheen with a stick. If it breaks into clumps, it's from iron bacteria. If the sheen goes back together, pollution is present.
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