| A simple solution to water pollution is picking up after your dog whether you are walking your dog in a park, down your neighborhood block or in your own backyard. When it rains, your pet's "business" is washed down into the street and storm drain and into the nearest waterway. This contaminates our rivers, lakes and streams with unhealthy levels of bacteria making them unsafe for recreation.
Cleaning up after your dog may not be the most inviting activity, but it will help prevent water pollution. Think of it this way, picking up after a pet is similar to changing a baby's diapers.
For pet owners, there are several options to keeping your pet's waste from being washed into rivers, lakes and streams. The most common options for pet owners include carrying a plastic grocery bag or one designed for pet waste pickup (found in pet stores).
You can play a role in establishing a "Dog Park" in your area. Join with local pet enthusiasts and community residents to petition having a park or section of a park dedicated for the use of dogs. Contact a local parks and recreation official to develop the park. Using vegetated buffers, pooper-scooper stations and the siting of parks out of drainage-ways, streams and steep slopes helps control the impacts of dog waste on receiving waters.
Some basic benefits of picking up after your pet are:
- Environmental reasons
- Hygiene/health reasons
- Neighborhood courtesy
- Responsibility as a pet owner
- Keep the yard clean
Did you know?
- There are over 53 million dogs in the United States, which would produce 6.3 billion pounds of poop per year. It would take a scoop the size of a football field and 800 feet tall to dispose of that poop.
- In Georgia, there are regulated areas where pet owners that walk their dog must pickup after their pet. As a whole the area does not enforce pet waste pickup in neighborhoods, the backyard or around parks.
If you would like a copy of the Clean Water Campaign Pet Waste fact sheet to distribute, click here (PDF). |
