Just like many other types of environmental footprints, your stormwater footprint is the byproduct of all the activities you engage in on a daily basis that ultimately contribute to the quality and quantity of stormwater. Certainly the obvious contributors are things like the dwelling you live in or the roads you drive on, but some of the less obvious contributors might be when you fertilize your lawn, if you pick up after your pets, or where you wash your car and what products you use to wash it. What can seem as inconsequential individual daily tasks can have a profound positive impact when a whole community starts to think about and ultimately carry out modifications to those activities.

It’s really hard to fix anything if you don’t know what the problem is. If your kitchen faucet was leaking, you wouldn’t begin by tearing out all the plumbing in your house. The same thing is true for adjusting your stormwater footprint. By taking inventory of the things that contribute to the size of your impact, you can determine what small changes might lead to big results. A great way to start is by jotting down a list of things in your life that contribute to either generating stormwater runoff and/or adding pollutants to that runoff. We’ve already mentioned your home and roads, but what other impervious surfaces do you encounter on a day-to-day basis? What kinds of things are you doing that are potentially introducing nutrients or pollutants to the environment?

Ok, now that you have your list, scan it for ways to reduce or eliminate negative contributions to stormwater. For example, you aren’t going to tear down your house, but you could install a rain barrel to your roof downspout or divert your downspout from discharging directly into a storm sewer. Do you have a lawn? Did you know that turf grass is the most abundant crop grown in the Chesapeake Bay watershed? How about getting a soil fertility test done to see what nutrients your lawn really needs instead of just applying whatever’s in the bag of fertilizer you buy at the store. When you are applying fertilizer, think about the potential exit points of your yard and limit fertilizer applications in those areas. For example, maybe you have a small swale or stream in your backyard. Create a natural vegetative or grass buffer along those areas (commonly called a “Riparian Buffer” by us stormwater geeks) and limit or eliminate fertilization in those areas. Remember, fertilization isn’t a bad thing, it just becomes a bad thing when those nutrients that are intended for your turf end up in the nearby stream. Don’t forget about the stormwater inlets on your street. Just because you might not have the Swatara Creek in your backyard doesn’t mean that water from your property doesn’t make its way there through the stormwater piping underground. Remember, there are two sides to the stormwater coin, source (potential contaminant) and transport (can it get there).

As fun as it is to talk about stormwater (don’t pretend you don’t like it), nothing changes until we do something. Here are some actionable items you can do to make a difference when the rain hits the road.

• Map out your impervious areas and plan changes around your residence with this online interactive tool found at http://www.stormwaterguide.org/.
• Grab a soil sample from your yard and have it analyzed for nutrient and lime needs by picking up a soil test kit from your local County extension office or garden center. More information can be found here http://agsci.psu.edu/aasl/soil-testing/soil-fertility-testing.
• Wash your vehicle in your lawn instead of on a hard surface like your driveway or street, or take it to a commercial car wash that recycles their water.
• Pick up after your pets. This means at your residence and when you take them for walks. Not only will it keep your neighbors happy, it will remove a source of nutrients and pathogens from entering our streams.
• Mulch your grass clippings when mowing or if you bag the clippings, compost them. Don’t throw them in the street or into a stream where they can contribute excess nutrients.
• Don’t litter. What you throw on the ground ends up in a stream eventually. Properly dispose of your trash and cigarette butts.
• Never dump anything in a stormwater drain. Only rain in the drain!