San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program Reducing Pollutants in our Watersheds

1. San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention ProgramReducing Pollutants in our Watersheds Sarah Pratt Environmental Health Phone: 650-372-6245 Email: spratt@co.sanmateo.ca.us

2. Water Pollution Prevention San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program (SMCWPPP) is a program that aims to partner with the county's residents and businesses to prevent pollution of our local water bodies; such as creeks, the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. www.flowstobay.org

3. We All Live Downstream: Watersheds • A watershed is the area of land that water flows across on its way to a creek, river, lake, bay, or ocean. • In urban settings water travels more quickly across pavement than in a natural setting. • Rain and hosing down carries pollutants into local waterways.

4. San Mateo County has 34 Watersheds • Water Drains • Pacific Ocean • San Francisco Bay • Creeks

6. Pre-Urban Development: A Healthy Landscape

8. Watershed Benefits • Wildlife habitat • Parks & Open space • Natural resources: water • Nourish forests & plants • Provide drainage corridors needed to avoid flooding

9. The Quality of Our Local Creeks is Linked to Land Cover

13. Water Pollution from Streets andParking Lots • Oil, grease, antifreeze, heavy metals from leaking and deteriorating cars and trucks, and brake pad and tire wear • Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers from our residential and commercial landscapes • Solvents and household chemicals (e.g., paint thinner, detergents, and paint) • Animal waste, litter, decomposing vegetation, and sewage from leaks • Construction debris, such as fresh concrete or mortar

15. Gardening for Water Quality Goals: • Increase on site infiltration and reduce runoff • Reduce contaminants in runoff • Increase the soil’s ability to remove pollutants from runoff

16. Use Integrated Pest Management “…a long-term, preventive approach to managing pests that combines biological, cultural, physical, and/or chemical options. IPM involves a decision-making process based on pest identification and population monitoring, action thresholds, and knowledge of pest biology.” CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PESTICIDE REGULATION

17. Prevent Pest Problems

18. Check regularly with the University of California www.ipm.ucdavis.edu Or subscribe to the IPM Practitioner or Common Sense Pest Control from the Bio-Integral Resources Center www.birc.org for up to date information. Know & Monitor Beneficials

19. Use Physical, Mechanical, & Biological Controls

20. www.flowstobay.org/pestcontrol Pesticides to Avoid Metaldehyde Malathion Carbaryl Pyrethroids (Bifenthrin, Cypermethrin, Cyfluthrin, Permethrin) Use Least Toxic Pesticides As Last Resort

21. “Our Water, Our World” Retail Partnership Program

22. Plant groundcovers, shrubs, or trees, instead of turf Plant native plant meadows or grassy swales that treat stormwater and resemble native grasslands Eliminate High Input Decorative Lawn

23. Small area for play Grows best in sunny areas with well-drained soil Heavy water user Avoid planting on slopes Min 18” buffer between lawn & sidewalk Lawn Uses

24. See pg 38-39 in Bay Friendly Garden Cover with cardboard On top of cardboard put 6 inch layer of wood chips Let it rest a few months Plant! Sheet Mulch to Remove Lawn

25. Plants to Plant Instead of Lawn • Manzanita • Wild lilac • Red fescue (native bunchgrass) • Wooly Thyme (drought –tolerant) • Prairie of red fescue, purple needlegrass, and wild flowers • Others see pg 56 in Bay Friendly Garden

26. All Soil should have mulch or plant cover Retain natural topographic features Do not increase steep slopes Limit clearing to road, utility building pad, and landscape areas Minimize Site Disturbance

27. Choose low emission equipment Repair oil leaks and recycle spent oil Specify low VOC paints, sealants, solvents, adhesives Use sustainably harvested wood Choose and Maintain your Materials & Equipment Carefully

28. Keep plant materials away from storm drains, creek banks, and the shoreline. Don’t let the stormdrain look like this: Keep Soil and Organic Matter Where it Belongs

29. Watershed quality decreases rapidly when the total impervious area exceeds 10%. Yet typical single-family housing projects have 25-50% impervious surfaces. Minimize Impervious Surfaces

30. Landscaped Areas By landscaping you are already creating and maintaining areas of pervious surfaces.

35. Direct drain spout to landscaped areas

36. Green Roofs

37. Design landscape to protect 80% of existing, mature, healthy trees Select trees to: Microclimate Soil characteristics CA Natives or low H2O Plant Large stature Groves & hydrozones Plant and Protect Trees

38. Poor sprinkler design Avoid over-watering Manage and Maintain the Irrigation System Carefully

39. Design a System to Capture and Treat Water Catching, slowing and retaining water will promote infiltration and removal of pollutants, as well as minimize stormwater runoff: • Stormwater curb extension • Rain garden • Drain to vegetated swale • Rain barrel

50. All resources for capture and treatment of water found in our new Design Guidebook Ch 2 Stormwater Facility Strategies www.flowstobay.org/greenstreets Green Streets & Parking Lots