Resources -> Homeowners
West Virginia homeowners are urged to do their part in helping to restore the Chesapeake Bay and WV's streams. Excess nutrients, including those contained in common fertilizer, are a leading cause of water quality problems in the Chesapeake Bay, according to scientists. By making small changes around your home, you can make a big impact on water quality. See the documents posted below for several steps you can take to restore the Bay and local streams.
Specifically regarding excess rain and snow runoff (stormwater): If you live in a town or city in the Potomac Basin of West Virginia, your home and yard, and the buildings and yards around you, can cause a lot of runoff to nearby streams and rivers.
As more land is developed, this runoff is creating more problems for our drinking water and other water resources. It transports fertilizers from our lawns, oil and chemicals from our driveways, and bacteria from our pets’ waste and malfunctioning septic systems. The sheer volume of the runoff is a problem, too, because it has such erosive force bearing down on our soils and streambanks. This results in silty, polluted streams, groundwater and wells.
As residents of these areas, there is a lot we can do to fix the problem:
- Disconnect downspouts and allow rainwater to wash over vegetated areas or lawns, instead of flowing directly toward storm drains. You can even install a rain barrel at the end of your downspout to re-use the water from our rooftops
- Plant a rain garden that has good, permeable soil that can absorb more runoff
- Spread the word to neighbors to fertilize less, and do so wisely (i.e. not right before a rainstorm is forecast)
- Retain natural vegetation in and along drainage ways.
All resources below are provided by the WV Watershed Resource Center.
