Happy fall! One of the best things about fall is the beautiful red, green, and orange foliage. But it comes with a cost. During this time of the year, we need to make sure to protect our storm drains and water quality by properly discarding those fallen leaves!
When the trees lose their leaves, the leaf debris ends up entering storm drains. Not only do the leaves clog storm drains causing flooding, but if not properly collected, the decomposing leaf debris can result in an excess of nutrients entering the waterways from the storm drains which promotes an increase of algal blooms and negatively impacts the water quality which directly affects humans and wildlife. Storm drains connect directly to the waterways, whatever enters the storm drain eventually reaches the rivers and streams which in turn inevitably leads to Lake Erie. Keeping leaves off of the street will help to decrease the number of leaves that enter the storm drains which will help combat water quality issues.
Some things you can do to help keep leaves out of the storm drain systems:
- Rake your leaves and look into your local municipalities leaf collection protocols
- Mow your leaves to create your own fertilizer for your lawns or gardens
- Look into composting leaves and grass clippings!
- Looking after your local storm drains by cleaning them up and partnering with us to spread the message! Check out this page to learn how you can work with us to help advocate for storm drain awareness by participating in our Storm Drain Marking volunteer opportunity.