If you have lived in Georgia for at least a few years, you may have noticed that our summers have shifted into a lot more pop-up rainstorms and showers. With all of this water and our typical sunny summer days as well, you may have had the need to mow your lawn a bit more than in the past. All Turf Lawn Care knows that this can be a good and bad thing. It is good that you are keeping your turf healthy by cutting it to proper heights regularly; however, if you are a practitioner of leaving grass clippings on your lawn, while good in many cases, it can also be dangerous to your local storm drains.
Grass Clippings & Stormwater
Unfortunately, when grass clippings are washed into storm drains (either on purpose or due to rain runoff) it puts certain pollutants, like nitrogen and phosphorus, into play. Phosphorus is one of the most troublesome pollutants in stormwater runoff today, according to the U.S. EPA. Both of these cause water quality problems (like destructive algae) in our lakes, ponds, and streams.
What You Can Do to Help
Here are a few tips to help prevent lawn clippings from going into your stormwater drains:
- Avoid blowing grass clippings into the street or onto the sidewalks.
- If not using your lawn clippings, bag them up in lawn bags.
- Do not use your hose to wash clippings or leaves down storm drains.
- Avoid over-fertilizing your lawn (for your turf’s sake & to avoid the excess drain off in rain).
- Try to control soil erosion in your yard to avoid phosphorus runoff from the soil as well.
All Turf Lawn Care
If you are interested in learning more about protecting your lawn and water, take a look at the very informative pamphlet from the UGA Extension Office entitled, “Protecting Your Home, Lawn, and Water.”
Also, please contact our wonderful Atlanta area lawn care experts at All Turf if you have any questions or concerns. We hope you are having a great summer!
