April showers bring May flowers! Those April showers also create stormwater runoff. If you plan to fertilize your lawn in the spring, chances are, that fertilizer will wash away or seep into the ground water and wind up mixing in with the stormwater runoff.
In Spring, although your grass may be greening up, the turf is not in its maximum growth period quite yet. Fertilizer is most beneficial to grass during the summer or fall months when the roots need a little energy to encourage that broad leafy growth. Otherwise, that bag of fertilizer winds up in our streams, waterways and Chesapeake Bay where it can cause an algae bloom.
The Northern Virginia Regional Commission is pleased to coordinate the activities of the Northern Virginia Clean Water Partners. The Partners represent 19 Northern Virginia local governments, school systems, independent water and sanitary sewer authorities, and local businesses that care about the quality of our waterways and the region’s quality of life.
Our goal is to work together to keep local residents healthy and safe by reducing the amount of pollution that reaches local creeks and rivers. We use educational advertisements, publications, and blogs to alert the citizens we serve about how they can do their part — simple steps they can take to make sure there is enough clean water in local waterways for families to enjoy them and for fish and animals to survive and thrive.
Visit the Clean Water Partners website onlyrain.org to learn more tips about what you can do to keep our streams clean!