You Can Help

Washing Your Car

Wash your car on a grassy area so the ground can filter the water naturally.
Use soap sparingly and use non-phosphate detergents.
Use a high-pressure, low-volume hose that has a trigger nozzle to save water.
Empty your bucket of used, soapy water down the sink, not on the driveway or in the street.
Best of all, take your car to a commercial car wash. Most car washes reuse wash water several times, before sending it to a sewage treatment plant.

Use fertilizers sparingly. Lawns and many plants do not need as much fertilizer as you might think.
Don't bag grass clippings. Use a mulching lawn mower. Grass clipping recycling with a mulching mower puts nutrients on your lawn reducing the need for fertilizers and chemicals which pollute stormwater runoff.
Don't fertilize before a rainstorm.
Wash your spreader and equipment on a previous area like the lawn, not on the driveway. This allows the natural absorption of excess fertilizer.

Check your car often for drips and oil leaks and fix them promptly.
Have your car tuned up regularly to reduce oil use.
Use ground cloths or drip pans under your vehicle if you have leaks or are doing engine work.
Recycle used motor oil. Many auto supply stores, car-care centers, and gas stations will accept used oil. Check with your local service station.
Clean up spills immediately; you can use kitty litter or sand to soak up the liquid.
Collect all used oil in containers with tight-fitting lids. Old plastic jugs are excellent for this purpose.
Do not mix waste oil with gasoline, solvents, or other engine fluids. This contaminates the oil, which may be reused and may form a more hazardous chemical.
Never dump motor oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, or other engine fluids down storm drains, into road gutters, on the ground, or into a ditch.

Scoop up pet waste.
Flush the waste - as long as the droppings are not mixed with litter or other materials. This method is best because then your community sewage system treats the pet waste.
Seal the waste in a plastic bag and put it in the garbage.
Bury the waste. Never dump pet waste into a storm drain.

Be part of the pollution solution.