Stormwater Pollution Prevention – Page 5

The tools for growing and maintaining a beautiful, bright green, tightly edged, and short cut lawn are marketed to us every day. Whether it’s the right blend of seeds, a well-calibrated watering schedule, or a hefty dose of fertilizers and pesticides, the image of the perfect lawn is sold to us as an easy vision to manifest, over and over again. Though a healthy lawn can be a great amenity to a backyard or community park (game of soccer anyone?) it’s also true that lawns tend to wreak havoc on every ecosystem in which they are found.

If you added all the lawns in America together they would cover an area about the size of Florida. Consuming a whopping 7 billion gallons of water every day (a third of all residential water consumption), grass is the most abundantly irrigated plant in the country. In 2007 we dumped 78 million pounds of pesticides on residential lawns to keep them green. What’s the problem with all of this, you might ask? A whole heck of a lot, as you’ll find out below!

In the rest of this blog, we outline the primary ways in which lawns degrade nature and offer simple solutions that will help you transition to a more natural (and less demanding) landscape.

Pictured: A water-wise front yard planted with a diverse mix of native grasses and supported by Green Infrastructure that prevents runoff. Water-wise Tip: Grading the front yard slightly lower than the sidewalk will prevent runoff from polluting local creeks and allow for greater water infiltration into the garden.

Location, Location, Location! Can you guess where the seed that comes in your standard grass starter comes from? Here’s a hint: Kentucky Bluegrass is not from Louisville! It’s native to Europe, North Asia, and the mountains of Algeria and Morocco. Not only is most grass adapted from regional climates that don’t exist in San Mateo County (meaning they require lots of water, fertilizer, & pesticides to maintain), but more lawn = fewer plants that support industrious pollinators like bees and butterflies. Did you know that 75% of the world’s flowering plants and 35% of the world’s crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce? Our reliance on pollinators for the food we eat makes their decline a major concern—American beekeepers have lost about 30% of their colonies every year since 2006. Reducing your reliance on insecticides and planting a pollinator garden are both easy ways to help reconnect fragmented habitat and lend pollinators a helping hand. If you need help finding native plants to fill your yard, use this resource!
Health & Habitat Hazardous. Dogs that love to roam are particularly at risk of exposure to insecticides, and symptoms of poisoning can show up in a number of ways. But it’s not just our 4-legged furry friends we have to be worried about. Over time, pesticides accumulate in the soil where they can affect the worms and microorganisms that work to create healthy, nutrient-rich soils. When lawns are over-watered or are watered too quickly, they create runoff. The nitrogen and phosphorus that allow fertilizer to work wonders on the plants in our yards can also cause harmful algae blooms in our creeks and oceans. Pesticides can accumulate in the bodies of fish and in the sediment of the creeks and oceans we play in as well. Would you want to eat or swim in pesticides? If you’re ready to make the switch to a non-toxic or less-toxic pesticide alternative, click here!
Money & Aesthetics. Ditching the lawn can also be good for the wallet. When drought strikes and water prices go up, so do restrictions about water use, and water for landscapes is the first allowance to go! You can be water-wise and plan for the next drought by installing a rain barrel, greywater system, or—if you live in the area of a participating agency—cash in on the Lawn Be Gone! rebate (up to $4 per square foot) and buy some drought-tolerant plants with your dough! When dry weather rolls in again you’ll be happier having a thriving succulent garden than you will be with a brown lawn. Our friend Julia from Redwood City replaced her lawn with this lovely water-wise landscape:

So, it turns out being water-wise and building healthier communities and relationships with nature is just as easy as growing a lawn, and it makes a whole lot more sense (and in some cases more cents, too!). If you decide to take the plunge with a water-wise project at home, be sure to send us before/after photos—we’d love to share your story!!

Have questions? We’re listening!

Feel free to email us at info@flowstobay.org.

We often experience streets from behind the wheel—as potholes, traffic jams, accidents, and sudden jolts to accommodate wayward travelers. But a historic focus on streets as “transportation corridors” has often come at the expense of the pedestrian. While our streets grew wider, crosswalk timers got shorter. “Complete Streets” were the first answer to this problem, designed to enhance the safety and experience of all users of the road, and of all ages and abilities. But while designing streets with an eye to the pedestrian was a good first step, these streets often fell short of the maximum benefit they could provide if they were further designed to help our environment. Enter sustainable Streets: the next evolution of the complete street.

Did you know streets and roads are a major part of delivering stormwater (and the pollution it carries) from our communities into local waters, including the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean? Sustainable Streets provide safe mobility and access to all users with the added benefit of Green Infrastructure, which collects and cleans runoff at its source, reduces flooding, and protects our creeks, the Bay, and Ocean from runoff pollution. Of course, greening streets also adds to the quality and comfort of our urban habitats and supports a more resilient future for our communities as we face unpredictable weather related to climate change.

See the transformation of a normal street to a complete street, and finally to a sustainable street, in the below illustrations.

Standard Street:

Complete Street:

Sustainable Streets:

Recent vulnerability assessments have shown that we, in San Mateo County, are among the most likely communities to be affected by sea level rise impacts related to climate change in California. With this in mind, and with greater attention toward creating healthier and safer places to live in our county, the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County is developing a Sustainable Streets Master Plan (SSMP). The plan seeks to engage the San Mateo community to plan for and prioritize street improvements that will provide water quality, flood reduction, and community benefits throughout the county in the face of the changing climate. Want an example of what this might look like? Cities around the County have already experimented with Green Infrastructure as part of the movement towards Sustainable Streets—check out these efforts in San Bruno and Burlingame.

While the Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program is spearheading this effort, the SSMP is not a document, it’s a process. We’re on our way to building Sustainable Streets in San Mateo County, but we want your feedback! Help us reimagine your neighborhood streets to include trees, sidewalk plantings, bioswales, intersection enhancements, flood control measures, and other street features that will create more vibrant communities in San Mateo!

Check out more information about our Sustainable Streets Master Plan and make sure to email us your thoughts at info@flowstobay.org.

Last month, the Frito-Lay Factory in Brisbane saw a lot of attention from local news outlets and members of the San Mateo County community. The source of this hubbub was Jake Scussel. If you hadn’t heard of him before now, you’re not alone. He started popping up on a lot of radars after discovering a treasure-trove of trash behind the Frito-Lay factory. After repeated attempts to get Frito-Lay to address the issue, Scussel took matters into his own hands, filling numbers of garbage bags with trash before reporting the pollution to city officials. He publicized some of his finds on social media, including the below bag from 1992 (images courtesy of Jake Scussel):

Mr. Scussel’s proactive approach and enthusiasm did, in the end, get the attention of the facilities management, and the company made a good-faith effort to turn the situation around by enlisting staff to support the cleanup.

Inspired by the actions of everyday citizens going above or beyond in the name of water-pollution prevention, we reached out to Jake for an interview. What follows are excerpts from this conversation:

FTB: Hey Jake, thanks for taking some time to talk with us. Why was it important for you to take action and clean up the trash behind Brisbane’s Frito-Lay factory?

JS: I would clean up the bags that blew over the fence on a regular basis, hoping that Frito-Lay would fix whatever the issue was. But it never got better. The litter was almost exclusively plastic and was finding its way into a rain channel that flows into the Bay. I’ve heard the stats about how there will likely be more plastic by weight than fish in the oceans soon, and I’ve seen the photos of various beaches and marine-animal guts overflowing with plastic. I wanted to do anything I could to stop the Frito-Lay’s garbage from achieving that same fate.

In December of 2018, a friend shared an article on Facebook titled How to Fight the Global Plastics Problem. It was a big inspiration for me (despite the fact that is was published in TeenVogue and I’m nearly 32). A link inside the article to Greenpeace’s Million Acts of Blue Toolkit provided the mental slap my brain needed to realize there were much more effective things I could be doing beyond just picking up the garbage. For example, tagging the brand responsible in photos on social media, reporting them to the city/municipality where they reside, and alerting local media.

FTB: Where does your passion for environmental issues come from?

JS: There are so many stories coming out about how much plastic is getting into the ocean, and climate change, and mass extinctions. I try to do what I can to help as an individual by recycling, giving up meat, buying in bulk and so on, and when I saw this huge company next door seemingly not caring it was really frustrating. I had to do something!

FTB: What else do you do? Do you have any hobbies? Are you active in any groups? Do you do “eco-friendly” things at home?

JS: As far as eco-friendly stuff, I tend to a garden at my office! It’s not drought tolerant, but it’s full of fruits and vegetables that I planted using seeds from kitchen scraps…I currently have avocado, snap peas, tomatoes, peppers, and garlic growing. I also water the garden with rainwater that I collect in 5-gallon jugs from my office’s downspout during storms.

I think one of the most impactful things I do is to not buy anything brand new. That means clothes, electronics, home goods, etc. I always check Poshmark, Craigslist and eBay before Amazon (which incidentally also has a “Buy Used” option). I’d guess that this alone makes a bigger impact than all the other stuff I do to lessen my carbon footprint.

FTB: Do you have any advice for people who might not have a lot of time, but want to contribute to the social and environmental health of their communities?

JS: You don’t have to save the world, just enrich your life! Whether that’s trying yoga, reading a book, or finishing a project—you pretty much can’t go wrong.

From all of us at Flows To Bay, THANK YOU Jake! You never know how big of an impact your small actions can make, and you’ve clearly helped make a positive change at the Frito-Lay factory.

Jake also wanted to mention that if anyone wishes to recycle their own chip bags, you can do this at many Subaru dealerships through their partnership with TerraCycle. Have questions or comments about this blog? Feel free to email us at info@flowstobay.org

Flows To Bay recently held a “Water-Wise” photo contest to gather photographs of fantastic DIY water-related projects in San Mateo County (SMC). We received a lot of great submissions that highlighted a range of ways people in SMC are thinking about mitigating stormwater pollution and conserving our precious water resources. Check out some of these great home projects at the bottom of this blog!

Seeing these creative commitments to our local environment (from Bay to ocean) got us thinking about what it means to be “water-wise,” and how we can be inspired by what early adopters are already doing, and in some cases have been doing for many years. How many of us actually think about the “story of water” — where does it comes from, where does it go, and how do our behaviors affect water quality? Over the past month, we’ve learned that water-wisdom comes in all shapes and sizes. Read on to learn about how to become more water-wise at home this spring, and check out the great inspirational examples provided by SMC residents.

1) Succulent Heaven. Have you ever seen a golf course pond? Though these water basins may seem refreshing from a distance (or while out on the green), large artificially landscaped areas like this are not so water-wise. These ponds can be full of fertilizers which damage our waterways by creating algae blooms that starve the surrounding water of oxygen through a process known as eutrophication. They also require a lot of water use, which golf courses are notorious for.

Not to call out golf courses as the only offender of course! On the whole, they just happen to make a case in point. Yet, any yard that uses fertilizers has the potential to contribute to the destructive process of eutrophication, and lawns in particular (requiring enormous inputs of both fertilizer and water to stay lush) are a primary culprit. Choosing lawn grasses that are native to California is a good water-wise move because they require way fewer applications of fertilizers and pesticides than the non-native grass species you might find in a run-of-the-mill grass mix at the local hardware store. And as we’ve written about previously, pesticides are one of the top four big water pollutants in our County.

Feeling tired of your lawn and all the care it requires? If that’s the case you might want to scratch the grass altogether and consider a succulent garden. Not only are succulents pretty and quirky, but they are very hardy plants that can flourish in both the rainy and dry seasons. They grow quickly and even make great gifts! Take a succulent clipping, put it in a can with some dirt, and chances are it’ll start to root! If you need some help planning a succulent garden, you might want to attend one of BAWSCA’s many free workshops happening all the time. Note: not all succulents are supportive of local habitats, and many are non-native species that can become a nuisance when left uncontrolled. Consider a local variety of the Dudleya genus. Also known as “Rock Lettuce,” this fantastic native will thrive in your yard and coexist happily with its plant neighbors.

2. Harvest Season. Another way to be water-wise and decrease your water usage during the dry season is to install a water catchment system, like a rain barrel. SMC has a great rain barrel rebate available, and many people (including Ray from San Bruno!) have taken advantage of it. But even if you haven’t found the time to purchase a rain barrel at the hardware store and participate in the rebate program, when it comes to conserving water, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best for getting started. For example, Remy, a resident of Daly City, collects rainwater in recycled buckets to water his houseplants, and Sybille, of Menlo Park, collects excess water while her shower is heating up. That extra bucket of cold water that would otherwise be wasted becomes the perfect water resource for plants in the yard (during the dry season), or a great supplement for the cat’s water bowl. The possibilities!

3. Washwater Waste. While the bucket you’ve been using to clean paint brushes out back might not seem like a big deal, when taken together, small amounts of water pollution can have a large impact on our local waters and wildlife. So, when involved in any process outside that could generate polluted water when it rains (e.g. painting, surface cleaning/power-washing, hand-washing cars, applying pesticides or fertilizers, etc.) we have to be very careful about where that water ends up. Nothing other than rainwater should be going down the storm drain. The good news is that there are plenty of preventative, water-wise steps we can take to completely avoid these potential water-polluting scenarios in the first place.

The best thing we can do for the environment for most wash water is to collect and dispose of it in a toilet or another drain that’s connected to the sanitary sewer. If there’s no sewer connection available, dumping water in an area with gravel or grass will allow some natural filtering of the water to occur by plants and microorganisms before it rejoins the water table (this is especially useful for things like washing cars or pets at home). If you hire someone else to paint your home or work on your property, chances are they’re already familiar with best practices, but it never hurts to ask and you can always check out this list of contractors who have completed stormwater prevention trainings to find someone Bay-friendly! Remember: what gets into storm drains flows straight to local creeks, the ocean and the Bay without and treatment. Check out the County of San Mateo’s Household Hazardous Waste website for more information on proper disposal of potentially hazardous wastes.

4. Wanna go to the beach? Let’s face it, while there are many ways we can change our own behaviors to be more water-wise and to limit our personal contribution to water pollution in the future, our lands and waters are already feeling the impact, and so are we. Last year, four out of the 10 beaches listed on Heal the Bay’s “Beach Bummers” list for having the poorest water quality in California were located in SMC. Beach and shore cleanups are a great way to give back to the ocean we so often use, and there are lots of organizations like the Surfrider Foundation and Sea Huggers in and around San Mateo County that regularly host cleanup events. Even if you don’t have time to attend an official cleanup, taking a spare paper bag to the beach (or even around your neighborhood) and picking up a few pieces of trash is always a good call. Who knows, you might just be the domino that leads to an impromptu cleanup event!

While this blog only details a few ways that you can help curb ocean and Bay pollution this spring, as you can see, being water-wise is not a one-size-fits-all kind of shoe. All it really takes to protect the beautiful ecosystems we have in SMC is a little bit of care and a community to help you along the way.

Have you, or anyone you know, done something that we should be talking about? Please share! You can always reach out to us on Facebook, or email us at info@flowstobay.org.

Notable Water-Wise Photo Contest Submissions

Well, it’s official, the rainy season is upon us. It’s the time we bring out our raincoats and gaze up at that beautiful graphite sky hanging low overhead. It’s also the time of year that all of us at Flows To Bay feel our senses get a little keener. Like athletes training for the big event, we talk about the “rainy season” year round, so that when it actually comes we are ready to hit the ground running. Preventing stormwater pollution is the name of the game, and while we’re all on the same team, our individual actions matter! Here are four ways you can step to the plate and make great plays for clean water this season:

1. Always flush dog waste down the toilet or put it in the trash. I know you might be a little skeptical about how bad dog poop actually is for the environment. After all, there are tons of wild animals that poop outside all the time! And what about the nutrients in poop that are surely good for plants!? While to some extent both of those thoughts may be valid, it’s also true that pet waste contains lots of harmful viruses, bacteria, and parasites—including pathogens like E. coli, giardia, and salmonella. So is it really a problem? Yes, it is. Get this: last year, four out of the ten beaches on Heal the Bay’s “Beach Bummers” list for having the poorest water quality in California were located in San Mateo County. That’s almost half! And two of those four beaches were on the list due to high levels of fecal coliform bacteria. So remember friends—pet waste cannot be composted or left on the ground. Trash bin and toilet only!

2. Adopt a Drain. If you haven’t yet considered adoption, we’d like to urge you to take the plunge. There are a number of cities in San Mateo County (Burlingame, Pacifica, San Mateo, & South San Francisco) that offer official programs, and even if yours doesn’t you’re in luck. This is not a legally binding adoption—all you really need is a rake and some pride in your community! Keeping storm drains and their surrounding areas clean of leaves and trash not only protects our watersheds from high nutrient loads and critter-threatening plastics, but it helps prevent dangerous and potentially costly flooding.

3. Apply pesticides and fertilizers sparingly, and don’t forget to READ THE DIRECTIONS! You may be tempted to give your plants a boost this spring by laying on the fertilizers or want to protect them with a coat of pesticides. While we understand that fertilizers and pesticides may be necessary in certain situations, they can also be harmful to our waterways and ecosystems when applied in excess. Fertilizer that runs off into our waterways can cause damaging algal blooms, and pesticides can harm our local wildlife. If you must apply additives to your garden, check out this list of eco-friendly products, and follow these guidelines:

Spot Application: Only spray areas that need to be treated.
Watch for Wind & Rain: Only spray in low wind conditions to avoid spray drift. Don’t spray when the wind exceeds 10 mph, or when rain is in the forecast.
Protect Others: Ensure that all other people and animals are moved well away from the spraying area and that they stay away until it is safe to return.
Recycle Properly: Take all excess pesticides to a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility.

4. Volunteer at a community cleanup. Sometimes we need an excuse to get outside. For this, there’s nothing better than an opportunity to do a great service to the environment while exploring your neighborhood, local park, or beach! Picking up trash is win-win: not only beautifying your neighborhood but directly reducing the potential for stormwater pollution. By removing debris that is likely to be picked up by runoff, you keep it from being transported to the nearest storm drain and flushed to the bay. The Pacifica Beach Coalition and the Surfrider Foundation both organize volunteer cleanup days throughout the year, and you can always check the Flows to Bay events calendar for upcoming event dates and information.

You don’t need to be a pro to step up to the plate and knock stormwater pollution out of the park. So go ahead, consider our list and make the team proud. We’ll see you out there!

Flows To Bay, the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program, has a mission of educating residents about the ways in which we can collectively reduce stormwater pollution to protect our waterways, our communities, and the people and wildlife who live in them. Owning maintaining, and using a rain barrel is just one way residents can do this. Read on for a recap of our recent rain barrel workshop in the beautiful new public library in Half Moon Bay. Like all Flows to Bay events, this workshop was free of charge and a great chance for residents to learn more and get serious about rain barrel ownership. If you have questions, or want more support after reading the blog, feel free to email us at info@flowstobay.org.

BRAVING THE RAIN

The December 1st Flows To Bay Rain Barrel Workshop kicked off just as a heavy rainstorm passed through the area. The timing couldn’t have been better to capture the potential of rainwater harvesting. Though admittedly a little wet, with water-soaked shoes, umbrellas, and rain jackets in tow, workshop attendees poured into the Half Moon Bay Library ready and willing to learn everything on tap at this “nuts-and-bolts” workshop. The remnants of nearly 24 hours of steady rain served as the perfect backdrop for the conversation that day.

The workshop began with a discussion of the Rain Barrel Rebate Program available to all residents of San Mateo County. Did you know that this program provides County residents with up to a $100 in rebates courtesy of the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program together with various participating agencies? Keeping in mind that the cost of a 50-gallon rain barrel starts at roughly $80, this rebate has the potential to cover most, if not all, of the purchase cost! To get more information and apply for the rain barrel rebate, visit the Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency site.

FREE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTATION, YOU ASK?

Brittani Bohlke then introduced the San Mateo County Resource Conservation District (RCD). As a water resource specialist with the RCD, Brittani helps local landowners manage their natural resources (i.e. water, wildlife, agriculture, farms and ranches), and provides free non-regulatory assistance to County residents.

In fact, if you happen to have a bit of agricultural land or more landscape than you know what to do with, you can sign up for a free site visit from the RCD to get helpful tips on sustainable land management. Just give them a call at (650) 712-7765, and a specialist like Brittani will come to your home and help you brainstorm achievable ideas and projects that you can implement at home related to sustainable landscaping, stormwater management, rainwater harvesting, and more. Flows To Bay works with the RCD to spread stormwater pollution awareness from the coastside to the bayside of San Mateo County, and their service is an integral part of that work.

THE MAIN EVENT

The rainwater harvesting presentation was given by Chris Corvetti, an uber sharp rain barrel installation specialist, who also consults with Grassroots Ecology. Chris explained the perks of rainwater harvesting, which include both environmental and personal benefits, such as:

Saving money on your water bill
Reducing polluted stormwater runoff from getting into our Bay and ocean
Improving the water quality of our streams and creeks
Decreasing land erosion
Reducing moisture around your home’s foundation
Increasing infiltration and groundwater storage

Chris also provided lots of interesting factoids. Did you know that rainwater is healthier for plants than tap water? The chlorine and other byproducts added to make tap water safe to drink may actually stunt plant growth. We also learned that a half inch of rainfall on a 1000-square foot roof has the potential of harvesting 310 gallons of rainwater! Taking into account that the annual rainfall average in San Mateo County is 21 inches, the same size roof has vast water harvesting potential (13,020 gallons, to be exact). And did you know that rain barrels must be opaque because sunlight would activate the growth of bacteria, which would then render the rainwater unusable (and fairly stinky, at that)?

The workshop ended with the much anticipated raffle giveaway of a 50-gallon rain barrel from our partners at Hassett Hardware, and two $25 gift cards to their store. The lucky winners of the barrel were San Mateo County residents, Lynn and Marcello Altwer (pictured below).

Flows To Bay is grateful to Half Moon Bay Library for hosting our workshop. A special thank you to our presenters, Chris and Brittani (left and right, respectively), who provided quality educational information about stormwater pollution prevention and water harvesting to a fun group of San Mateo County residents!

Interested in receiving the rain barrel information discussed in the workshop? Have additional questions about the rain barrel rebate program? Curious how you can prevent stormwater pollution in your neighborhood? Please email us as info@flowstobay.org and we’ll be happy to help! And be sure to check our calendar for more events you can attend—we’ll see you out there!

We hear a lot about the sources of “water pollution” in the Bay Area and beyond—whether it’s pesticides and fertilizers from lawns and farmland coming down the creek, an industrial site spilling chemicals into the bay or ocean, or older vehicles that leak motor oil and other fluids onto the street—the potential for pollution is everywhere. But what chemicals are we actually talking about when we talk about “stormwater pollution,” and how might they affect us? These are the questions that often remain a mystery. Keep reading to find answers as we explain which pollutants are most common and hazardous to the Bay, how they got there, and what we’re going to do about it.

1) Mercury. It’s a planet, it’s what makes that old thermometer work, and it can also be found in that beautiful piece of striped bass you just bought at Whole Foods (and many other large-species fish for that matter).

While the Bay is slowly cleaning itself and washing an estimated 3,100 pounds of mercury a year out to sea, roughly 2,000 pounds of mercury enter the SF Bay each year from stormwater and other sources. At this speed, it will take generations for the bay to purge itself fully.

Depending on the weather, mercury can be transported from just a few feet away to halfway around the globe — today it mostly comes from the emissions of local oil refineries, cement kilns, coal burning power plants and forest fires. Once it lands in our waterways, bacteria convert it to methylmercury which is taken up by plants and then moves into the organisms that eat them. As it travels up the food chain its concentration in individual animals increases in a process called “biomagnification.”

Why should seafood lovers be wary of the presence of mercury in different kinds of fish? Because mercury is toxic in tiny concentrations! A single drop in a backyard swimming pool (the equivalent of about 1 part per billion) is more than enough to cause permanent damage. In humans, mercury may cause tremors, problems with vision, and damage to the central nervous system. Studies also reveal developmental problems in wildlife.

Check out this resource for information about fish consumption in the Bay. Though several types of fish, especially those higher up on the food-chain, pose a risk to regular consumers, a variety of alternatives are available at most grocery stores that are “mercury-safe.” Check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Guide for more information.

2) PCBs. “P-C-Whats?,” you ask. PCBs, or Polychlorinated Biphenyls (if you want more of a mouthful), are chlorine-impregnated oils which were once widely used in industrial applications for heat transfer and coolant, and in carbonless copy paper, among other uses. While the production of PCBs was banned by Congress in 1979 when people found out how bad they were, they are still used today in electrical transformers.

PCBs represent what are known as “legacy pollutants”—contaminants that were released into the land, air and water from past industrial activities (sometimes many decades ago), that still have a negative impact today.

In the Bay, most PCBs are found in the bottom sediment and travel the same path as mercury—first accumulating at the base of the food chain, and then passing through larger and larger animals until eventually getting into our own diet.

High levels of PCBs specifically harm the liver, digestive tract, and nerves, and can also affect development and reproduction, and the immune system. Unsurprisingly, they have also been found to cause cancer.

3) Pesticides. Pesticides are marketed to suggest that they target and kill specific “pests.” Unfortunately, the actual footprint pesticides have tends to be much, MUCH larger than you might think.

Bugs that eat pesticide-covered plants can become food for other insects and other animals, causing direct harm to many well-loved Bay Area critters like shorebirds and seals. When it rains, pesticides are often washed off plants and properties, and transported into urban creeks and the ocean, where they begin to take immediate effect. BayKeeper reports that only 91 out of the 100,000+ chemicals—including many chemicals used in pesticides—that have been approved for use in the United States over the past 30 years, are regulated.

Luckily a lot of progress has been made to reduce the use of harmful chemicals in pesticides, but, commonly used pesticides including fipronil and imidacloprid are still in use—even the spot-on flea control which can be so useful for getting rid of fleas and ticks on our pets can be a source of water pollution!

4) Trash. This is the pollutant we are all most familiar with—so we’ll keep it short. Trash affects our waters when animals mistake it for food, and when it traps and ensnares them. It presents an added stress on the aquatic community, and an eye-sore for everyone involved. One way to avoid water pollution is to properly manage your waste bins at home. The quickest way (aside from flat out littering) to cause a trash problem is by overfilling your receptacles. Keeping your trash and recyclables properly sorted and ensuring your bins aren’t overflowing on pick-up day is a sure bet to cleaner streets. You can also go the extra mile and reduce your use of trash-making materials like single-use foodware (i.e., paper plates and napkins), and perhaps even join a local cleanup event. When it rains, that debris will flow to the nearest storm drain, which discharges into the nearest creek, and flows right to the Bay or ocean.

Above: Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters is topped by a 9-acre green roof, which insulates and conserves energy used to cool the building, while reducing stormwater runoff, and providing habitat for wildlife.

Pollution Solutions!!

While there is no one fix to the stormwater pollution problems we have in San Mateo County, there are some small changes we can make that will have a big impact. Small things like minimizing our pesticide usage, picking up after our pets, properly disposing of our trash, and having conversations about this topic with friends, neighbors and families is a terrific start!

The other thing we can do to reduce stormwater pollution is to reduce the flow of water entering the storm system when it rains. Less water in the system helps reduce the amount of runoff-related pollutants entering our waterways. As residents, you can help by installing rain barrels/cisterns or rain gardens on your property. These “rain-saving” solutions can reduce your runoff footprint and protect our precious water resources. As a county, plans are already underway to implement larger green infrastructure projects like bioretention areas, where greater volumes of water can be collected and filtered through specially designed landscaped areas. Fun Fact: as water moves through the soil, it is naturally filtered by mircroogramisms and plants!

If you’re curious about local green infrastructure projects, you can check our article & blog on green infrastructure, and get updates by signing up for our newsletter!

Let’s continue the conversation.

It’s up to all of us to prevent stormwater pollution, and the time for action is now! Be sure to send us your thoughts at info@flowstobay.org, follow us on Facebook, and look out for our monthly blogs!

If you happen to live in Half Moon Bay or have passed through the historic downtown area on your way to the beach, you may have caught a glimpse of the new Half Moon Bay Library.

The library, which opened on Saturday, August 18, is LEED Silver certified, meaning it’s built to be energy and water efficient, and to improve indoor air quality and visitor comfort through mindfully selected building materials and lots of natural light. In addition to the new amenities for readers and makers of all ages (the library has a special makerspace, including a 3-D printer), the library embodies the natural landscape and feel of the community, and its eco-value extends beyond the walls and vegetated roof.

The City of Half Moon Bay, which funded half of the library’s construction, took the re-build as an opportunity to also create a more sustainable and safer community near the library and adjacent Cunha Middle School. The city did this through the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo (C/CAG) Green Streets Infrastructure and Safe Routs to School Pilot Program.

Half Moon Bay was one of 10 awardees in the county to receive funding to build multi-benefit nature-based infrastructure projects. Funding from a countywide voter-approved vehicle registration fee will help build projects that enhance the safety of intersections and road crossings near schools, while also protecting local waterways from a range of pollutants. Special vegetated “stormwater curb extensions,” as they’re called, capture and absorb urban runoff. Essentially, plants and quick-draining soils do all the work of removing roadway grease and oils, pesticides, sediment and other contaminants as the water percolates through the soil.

Examples of curb extensions at the Half Moon Bay Library

These nature-based solutions, dubbed “green infrastructure,” are part of a larger effort throughout the county and the Bay Area to reestablish the natural connection between rainwater and the landscape. Green infrastructure promotes rainwater as a resource for keeping our landscape hydrated and even refilling groundwater aquifers while protecting waterways from pollution.

To this end, C/CAG recently received a $986,300 Caltrans Adaptation Planning grant to develop a countywide sustainable streets master plan. The sustainable streets master plan will help local agencies plan and locate potential projects that address local priorities, including reducing urban heat island impacts, curtailing local flooding and increasing public safety and accessibility.

The library project is the first of 10 projects funded under the C/CAG grant program to be constructed, with the remaining nine slated to be built by December 2019. Next time you’re in Half Moon Bay, be sure to swing by the library and check out the new stormwater curb extensions after perusing the books.

Have you ever been caught in a massive downpour and watched the seemingly endless flow of water flush through the streets and spill into storm drains? The power of water is truly remarkable, whether the tidal power of the ocean, or the gravitational stream of rainwater pouring through our streets and sewers. All of life depends on water, yet stormwater is often overlooked, treated as a waste. And with all that water coming out of the sky, have you ever considered where it ends up?

Where does the stormwater go?

Now that our cities and neighborhoods are mostly paved, rain can no longer soak back into the ground and into the roots of plants like it once did. Most of the time, unless you’ve got green infrastructure in your community, stormwater that starts on your street channels through gutters and pipes to nearby water bodies, where the pipe terminates and the water, along with everything it has picked up along the way, joins a stream. This water goes unfiltered into the stream, so everything that has flowed off of lawns (namely pesticides and fertilizers) and spilled out of of overflowing trash cans, ends up in your local watershed. Not only is the waste and pollution itself a problem, but we also, in a sense, “lose” all that water, because it flows unused right out to the bay or ocean. Last year, San Mateo County’s population grew more than it had in the previous 7 years. As our county continues to grow and become more dense, the problem intensifies.

What can be done?

The good news is that we can all take simple actions that can go a long way to lessening the burden on our waterways. Beyond ensuring your cars aren’t leaking oil, picking up your pet’s waste and using eco-friendly pesticides, you can work to reduce the amount of water reaching your storm drains in the first place. This has a two-fold benefit: 1) reducing the flow of water that can pick up pollutants and 2) upcycling some of that water instead of letting it run straight to the nearest drain. Rain Gardens are one way that rainwater can be contained and allowed to infiltrate the ground instead of entering the stormwater system. When planted with native species, rain gardens can also act as effective micro-habitats and pollinator gardens for the non-human neighbors who live on your block.

But what if you want to store stormwater and use it little-by-little, as you need it? Enter the “rain barrel.” You may have seen these perched under a downspout here and there in your neighborhood, passively gathering water. Rain barrels and cisterns vary in size, with storage capacities ranging from a few gallons to a few thousand. They can be used outside to water your garden and hose down the dog, or you may be the adventurous type and want to plumb your toilets with rainwater (though rainwater that supplies indoor fixtures requires proper filtration first – check with your local public officials and health department before trying this one…).

Acquiring a rain barrel of your own.

But wait, there’s more good news! San Mateo County offers an excellent rebate program that makes owning a rain barrel more affordable than ever. The rebate of up to $100 can cover a substantial portion of the typical cost of a 55-gallon rain barrel at your local hardware store. You can fill out a rebate application here.

Why should you install a Rain Barrel?

In addition to reducing your water bill, rain barrels are beneficial for a host of other reasons:

1.) You’ll help reduce water pollution from runoff.

Like rain gardens, rain barrels work to protect local creeks, the San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean by reducing urban runoff. During heavy rains, water that is not able to be absorbed by the soil will “run” towards the lowest point on your property to a gutter or storm drain. As runoff flows over the top of the soil it picks up fertilizers, pesticides, trash, oil, and dirt—all of which act as pollutants as they enter local waterways.

2.) Rainwater is free of the additives that tap water has for sanitation.

While safe for human consumption, the salts, inorganic ions, and fluoride compounds found in tap water can slowly accumulate in soil and disrupt the communities of microorganisms that are important for soil health. Over time, plant growth can be affected by this changing soil environment.

3.) Mold flourishes in damp environments.

As we enter the rainy season, prolonged periods of rain can create ideal conditions for mold growth. By collecting water from downspouts, rain barrels are an easy way to protect the siding and foundation of your home from deterioration.

4.) Become your block’s shining beacon of environmental stewardship!

Rain barrels are great conversation starters. Show your neighbors what you’ve done and tell them about the rain barrel rebate program! Think of a fun way to decorate your barrel and become the local envy! When the jealousy wears off, your neighbors will thank you, and so will the earth.

We want to hear from you!

Share any thoughts and questions you have about our rain barrel program and our stormwater management efforts, by emailing info@flowstobay.org. We encourage feedback and would love to hear your suggestions for how to engage residents of San Mateo County!

Coastal Cleanup Day (CCD) is an annual waterway and land cleanup held on the third Saturday of September. It’s California’s largest volunteer event and brings community awareness to cleaning up and protecting our marine environment. In 2017, volunteers in San Mateo County cleaned up a total of 28,706 pound of trash, and this year we’re looking to do even more!

San Mateo County coordinates CCD in conjunction with the California Coastal Commission, Ocean Conservancy, and many statewide and local partners.

Cleanups are held all over San Mateo County at beaches, creeks, waterways, parks and neighborhoods. This family-friendly event is a great opportunity to educate residents about litter and how to stop it from ending up in our local streets and waterways.

How Do I Volunteer?

Volunteers can pre-register at this link: http://www.smchealth.org/ccd or register at sites the day of the cleanup. If you are a large group, please contact the site captain first.

Where: Over 30 sites throughout the Peninsula, see list of sites at this link: http://www.smchealth.org/ccd.

When: Saturday, September 15th, 2018 9am-12pm (unless otherwise noted)

Prepare for the event:

Waiver Forms – Every participant is required to sign a waiver form. To make your check in faster, print, sign and bring the waiver form with you on the day of the event. All volunteers under the age of 18 must have the waiver form signed by a parent or legal guardian before participating in a cleanup.
Bring/Wear – Your own buckets, gloves, and reusable water bottle. Help reduce our overall footprint during the event! Wear comfortable closed-toe shoes and bring sunscreen or a hat.
Day Of – Listen to the safety orientation, have fun and be safe!