City of Brunswick Public Education Series GaNOI 2005

1. City of Brunswick Public Education Series GaNOI 2005 Use the navigation buttons to view the slide show.  Close this window to exit.

2. Resources Used in Creating This Presentation • U.S. EPA website at www.epa.gov . • Australian Government / Geoscience Australia website at www.ozestuaries.org . • Georgia EPD website at http://www.dnr.state.ga.us/dnr/environ/techguide_files/techguide.htm . • Center for Watershed Protection website at http://www.cwp.org/non-stormwater_discharges.htm . • City of Griffin, Georgia Stormwater Utility website at www.griffinstorm.com .

3. Resources (cont) • Hamilton County Storm Water District website at www.hamilton-co.org/stormwater . • Hernando County Public Works Department website at www.co.hernando.fl.us/npdes/citizenprevent.htm . • The Stormwater Managers Resource Center website at http://www.stormwatercenter.net . • GaNOI for the City of Brunswick, Georgia, January 2005.

4. Stormwater Discharges inBrunswick What Should We Know About Them? What Can We Do To Make Them Cleaner?

5. We Live in a Beautiful and Picturesque City • From our historic buildings and Victorian architecture; • To our rivers, marshes, and magnificent live oak trees; • Our City is beautiful and pristine, • And we need the help of all of Brunswick’s citizens to keep it that way!

6. Our City!

7. As Responsible Citizens We Must All Work Together to Keep our City Clean and Healthy • One of the ways that we can do this is through good stewardship of our stormwater system. • To become good stewards we must: • Become knowledgeable about stormwater runoff. • Exercise good sound landscape, building, and lawn use practices. • Learn the importance of keeping our lawns, streets, & sidewalks clean.

8. Why Should We Be Concerned About Stormwater Runoff? • Stormwater runoff washes contaminants from our lawns, streets, houses, and sidewalks into our storm drains. • In our coastal environment it can cause unnatural freshwater flows, which can be detrimental to coastal marine life. • Contaminants in stormwater can give rise to: • Fish Kills • Shellfish Closures • Harmful algae blooms

9. What Happens When it Rains?

10. Types of Polluted Stormwater Runoff Chart From- http://faculty.evansville.edu/ • There are 2 types of polluted stormwater runoff: • Point Source Pollution: • Industry • Power Plants • Sewage Treatment Plants • Construction Sites • Nonpoint Source Pollution: • Lawns • Septic Tanks • Roads and Sidewalks • Gardens

11. Where Can the Citizens of Brunswick Make a Difference? • Nonpoint Source Pollution • Here are some examples of pollution where we can make a difference.

12. Let’s Look at Stormwater Runoff Contaminants • These contaminants can be divided into 5 main classes: • Toxicants: These are substances derived from household chemicals, petroleum products, garden pesticides & herbicides, and industrial by-products, and other similar substances. • Nutrients: These come from fertilizers, detergents, eroding soils, decomposing lawn clippings, pet feces, and sewage overflows.

13. Stormwater Runoff Contaminants (cont) • Five main classes of contaminants (cont). • Pathogenic Organisms: Bacteria capable of causing diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery. • Litter: Plastic containers, trash, glass, cans, etc. • Suspended Solids: Organic matter including sewage, and soils from construction sites, roads, market gardens, and other sources.

14. Lets Examine the 5 Types of Contaminants • Common contaminants around your home.

15. Toxicants • Herbicide and Pesticide Usage • Do not use prior to high temperatures, windy conditions, irrigation, or heavy rains. • Maintain a buffer zone around wells or surface water. • Consider spot treatments instead of treating the entire area. • Clean up plant litter and remove weeds before they go to seed.

16. Toxicants (cont) • Herbicide and Pesticide Usage (Cont) • Apply pesticides and herbicides only when needed and in accordance with the warning label. • Recognize that no lawn or garden can be completely pest, or weed free. • Use natural alternatives that don’t harm the environment. • Check the local library or internet for alternative methods.

17. Toxicants (cont) • Household cleaner usage. • Avoid pouring household cleaners down the drain. • Take them to the approved recycling center. • Limit the use of household cleaners whenever possible.

18. Toxicants (cont) • Automotive fluid usage. • Never pour engine oil, antifreeze or other automotive fluids into storm drains, or let them drain on the ground or pavement. • Store fluids in special purpose containers or reuse old plastic containers. • Recycle fluids at an approved recycler. Many oil change and auto parts stores provide this service.

19. Toxicants (cont) • Auto maintenance (cont) • Hot drain engine oil filters for at least 12 hours into a container. • Repair fluid leaks as soon as possible. • Don’t work on your car without catching and retaining all leaking or draining fluids.

20. Nutrients • Fertilizing lawns and gardens • Never over fertilize your lawn or garden. Not only is it harmful for your yard the excess is washed away into the storm drains. • Plant gardens and lawns with plants and grasses that flourish with little fertilization. • Consider using alternatives such as compost instead of fertilizer.

21. Nutrients (cont) • When using detergents inside or outside the house follow these guidelines: • Make sure your detergent is biodegradable. • Wash clothes or dishes when you can do a full load to cut down on the number of uses. • If washing a car, or objects outside wash them on the lawn so that the detergent is filtered through the ground instead of running off into the storm drains.

22. Nutrients (cont) • Keep lawn clippings, and leaves away from the street and storm drains. • Mulch your lawn using mulching blades to keep from bagging your clippings. • If you don’t mulch, or bag cut your grass often to avoid leaving clippings that will be washed away into the storm drains. • Don’t blow off your driveway or sidewalk sweep up the clippings, or leaves to keep them from entering the storm drain system.

23. Nutrients (cont) • Remove pet feces from your lawn, or areas where the pet is walked. • When walking your pet carry a “pooper scooper” or a plastic bag to remove waste. Dispose of wastes in the toilet whenever possible. • Pet feces can take up to 1 year to disintegrate, and it is protein based which can be detrimental to your lawn. • Pet feces can carry diseases.

24. Nutrients (cont) • Make sure your septic system is in good working order. • Do not wait until the septic system shows signs of failure, inspect it annually and have it pumped out at least once every 3 years. • Keep records of pumping and maintenance, and a map of the location of your system and drainfield. • Practice water conservation indoors, and divert roof drains and surface water away from the system.

25. Nutrients (cont) • Make sure your septic system is in good working order (cont) • Use caution when disposing of materials down the drain. Household chemicals can kill the bacteria that make the system work, and non-degradable materials (cigarette butts, etc.) can clog the system. • Keep heavy equipment and vehicles off of your drainfield.

26. Nutrients (cont) • Make sure your septic system is in good working order (cont) • Don’t cover your drainfield with impervious surfaces that can block evaporation, and the air needed for effluent treatment. • Be careful of chemical additives that are often advertised for use as septic system cleaners. There is little evidence that such cleaners perform a useful function, and they may instead exterminate the microbes necessary for water treatment, resulting in increased discharge of pollution.

27. Pathogenic Organisms • Release of these organisms usually comes from pet feces, or improperly working septic systems. • They can release bacteria capable of causing diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery. • These are serious diseases, but they are easily controlled through proper septic system maintenance, and through removal of pet feces.

28. Litter • Items such as paper, trash, bottles, cans, and other trash left lying in yards and gutters. Litter is troublesome because it: • Gets washed into the storm drain system, and ends up in our rivers and creeks. • These items can clog up drains, and because they don’t break down or decompose over time they require many man hours of maintenance to remove. • Clogged drains can cause localized flooding. • These items are an eyesore and detract from the natural beauty of our city, rivers and waterfront.

29. Litter (cont) • People are the source of litter. • This makes the litter problem easy to solve if everyone does their part. • The City of Brunswick Code Enforcement does issue citations for litter placed in yards, gutters, and streets.

30. Suspended Solids • Suspended solids are organic matter from sewage, and soils from roads, agriculture, and other sources. • They can block light from reaching submerged vegetation. As the amount of light passing through the water is reduced, photosynthesis slows down. Reduced rates of photosynthesis causes less dissolved oxygen to be released into the water by plants, which can cause fish kills, and killing of aquatic plants.

31. Suspended Solids (cont) • Suspended solids (cont) • High Suspended Solids in a water body can often mean higher concentrations of bacteria, nutrients, pesticides, and metals in the water. These pollutants may attach to sediment particles on the land, and be carried into water bodies with storm water.

32. Suspended Solids (cont) • How can you help prevent this problem? • Sweep up dirt and debris from around your home instead of hosing it off, or blowing it into the street and gutters. • Landscape your yard to reduce the areas that are covered with impervious surfaces. • Landscape your yard to limit soil erosion. • Make sure your septic tank is in proper working order.

33. Summary- What Can You Do To Help? • Ten things you can do to help! • Make sure all bare ground is covered or seeded. • Do not dump anything into storm drains. If you see illegal dumping report it to the City of Brunswick’s Code Enforcement Division (267-5586). • Be careful not to overuse fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Use alternatives when possible. • Compost your yard waste, sweep up grass clippings, and tree trimmings from driveways and streets, and never place them close to storm drains and ditches. • Clean up your pet waste, and flush it down the toilet, or send it to the landfill in a garbage bag.

34. Summary- What Can You Do To Help? • Ten things you can do to help (cont)! • Keep any oil, gasoline, antifreeze, and other automotive supplies, and household chemicals stored properly. Keep containers sealed tightly, and recycle any used oils and fluids. • Never drop litter in the yard, or streets where it can find it’s way into the storm drain system (including cigarette buttes). • Refrain from washing your car on the street or in your driveway. Wash it at the carwash, or on your lawn to keep the water our of our storm sewer system.

35. Summary- What Can You Do To Help? • Ten things you can do to help (cont)! • Maintain your septic system properly. Inspect it annually, and have it pumped out every 3 years. Don’t use garbage disposals with septic systems, and be careful not to run chemicals into your drains that will interfere with the septic treatment process. • Get involved with local volunteer groups that promote conservation, and cleanliness of our city. End of Show- “Esc” or browsers back “” button to exit.