MADISON STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN
HOMEOWNER CONTRIBUTIONS

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT – WHAT IT IS
In the early days of environmental awareness, after the Federal Clean Water Act was passed, the primary emphasis was to corral the largest polluters and pollution sites in the country. The result was large-scale regulatory action and numerous massive cleanups at specific sites with “point source” discharges. These efforts were very public, well funded and so, received substantial coverage in the news media. Who can forget “Love Canal?”

Once this worthwhile effort was underway, it became apparent that these high-profile cases were not the only pollution game in town. A significant portion of the remaining pollution was produced by small individual activities, emerging from almost everywhere human beings lived, and was applied to sensitive environments in large doses after significant rain events. As a result, towns across the country, Madison among them, are creating “Stormwater Management Plans” with the goal of reducing pollution due to stormwater runoff.

The name attached to this ubiquitous problem is “Non Point Pollution” which might be more accurately named “All Point Pollution.” Unlike municipal sewage and industrial treatment plants, Non Point Pollution does not look very much like pollution, and addressing it is made more difficult because it lacks the news appeal of the big pollution sources. Where is the smoking gun, the oily residue, the cancer clusters, the greedy corporate bigwig to serve as a focus for our indignation? With Non Point Pollution we can’t send reporters out with a team of experts and a load of heavy equipment to attack some visible problem and wrap up the whole package for the evening news, because the problem is being constantly re-generated in very small doses over very large areas by the mundane day-to-day activities of millions of quite normal people. You water your lawn or take your dog for a walk – how bad can these things be in the grand scheme of things?

Government, business and the media have a part in addressing this issue, but when you boil it all down, the solution depends on changing the behavior of millions of people in the pursuit of activities that seem altogether routine and harmless. The sad fact is that we all pollute, not by any act of gross negligence, or ill intention, but just by living in the modern world. We are, each of us, the corporate bigwigs of our own small worlds, elevated to significance by our numbers and proximity. Therein lies the reason for this information piece: To make the case for Madison residents to take specific actions that can contribute to a solution to one of the biggest pollution problems in the country.

THE PROBLEM
Not all the rain that falls on your property stays there. Some soaks into the ground to join the groundwater and some flows off the property to join with other runoff in streams, wetlands or the Town Stormwater System, which leads to the same streams and wetlands and eventually to Long Island Sound. Increased property development has produced roofs, parking lots, manicured lawns, driveways and other hard surfaces so that today far more of the rain ends up as runoff than was the case in the past. As it flows over these surfaces it collects souvenirs – animal waste, vehicle grease, oil, fertilizer, pesticides, salt, sand, effluent from failed septic systems – pretty much anything too small to nail down and most of it too small to see.

Reducing this pollution source will require voluntary cooperation from a lot of people. What follows is a list of actions residents can take to contribute to a stormwater solution. The good news is that most of these actions are not inherently expensive and in some cases can save money over present practices. The list that follows is by no means definitive. There is a wealth of additional information on the EPA website. www.epa.gov/OWOW/NPS

CONTRIBUTING SOLUTIONS
Fertilize your lawn sparingly. Most lawns can only effectively use two applications a year. Additional or overly heavy applications tend to run off and add to the nitrogen load in Long Island Sound. They also are a waste of money.

Limit pesticide use to the minimum amount required to solve a real problem. Many pesticides kill the good bugs with the bad and persist in the environment long after application. If you hire a pest control company, be sure they follow Integrated Pest Management (IPM) procedures. If you apply pesticides yourself, be sure to follow all recommended precautions.

Maintain your septic system. Pumping your septic tank on a regular schedule is many times less expensive than replacing your leaching fields. Also be careful what you put into your system. Garbage grinders load up septic tanks with solids and so require frequent pumping. Anti-bacterial products and many household chemicals retard biological activity in your septic tank and should be used sparingly.

Clean up after your pets both on and off your property. Animal waste runoff can be a significant nitrogen source for Long Island Sound as well as a contributor to water pollution in beach areas. Madison’s beach water is some of the cleanest in the state. We should all work to keep it that way.

Car, boat and other vehicle washing are best done in commercial car wash facilities, which are required to recycle their water and send their wastewater to a treatment plant. If you do wash your vehicles at home, do it on your lawn rather than on your driveway or other impervious surface. Water passing through the filter of your soil is treated, which is not possible if it runs off into a storm drain or stream.

You are reading this piece; but many others are not. Because it has such a low public profile stormwater pollution problems require a talking cure, so after reading this, tell someone about it. And after initiating any of these responsible practices, brag about what you have done.