At Home

Maintaining a healthy yard is important to most residents in the Metro Atlanta area. Over half of a group surveyed in a follow-up poll for the Clean Water Campaign said that they maintain their own lawns. However, your yard may not be as "green" as you think. Excess fertilizer and pesticides can wash off your lawns when it rains. Here are some tips for you to follow when maintaining your lawn that prevent water pollution while keeping a yard green.

Fertilizer Application

• Avoid fertilizing in drought conditions and when heavy rain is predicted.
• Calibrate fertilizer spreaders to ensure proper rates are applied and use slow-release forms of nitrogen
• Close the spreader when going over pavement. If fertilizer is spilled or lands on paved surfaces, sweep it up and apply it to the lawn.
• Use a drop or rotary spreader with a deflector shield around waterways. Always close the spreader while passing over paved surfaces.
• If fertilizer is spilled or lands on paved surfaces, sweep it up and apply it to the lawn, then irrigate the lawn to minimize runoff.

Pesticide Application

• Read the pesticide label BEFORE you handle or apply it.
• Avoid applying pesticides when rain is predicted.

Grass and Yard Clippings

• Don’t blow grass clippings and leaves in the street or down a storm drain! These extra nutrients can reduce oxygen levels in water and potentially cause fish kills.
• Recycle clippings.
• Use a mulching mower to reduce the amount of grass clippings.
• Compost plant clippings, leaves, excess grass clippings and other plant material or bag them for curbside pick-up.

Prevent Erosion

• If possible, schedule grading and excavation projects for dry weather.
• Cover bare areas with plants or mulch.
• Leave a vegetative buffer along stream banks undisturbed.
• Cover all storm drains before hydro-seeding an area.

Equipment Maintenance and Clean Up

• Don’t wash equipment where wastewater can drain to a storm drain.
• Dispose of old oil, gasoline and yard chemicals properly.
• Don’t litter. Cover your load.
• Don’t use cleaning chemicals where wastewater can drain to a storm drain.

Additional Information

Interested in saving water while landscaping? Try downloading the Water Efficient Landscape Planner. It was developed to explain the advantages and principles of water efficient landscaping. The program covers the basics of landscape planning and provides guidelines and suggestions to help users select the most appropriate plants for their needs. It is intended for use by homeowners who are considering changes to residential landscaping.

To download the program, click here (executable file).