Bottom Line: You can help prevent local creek, Bay and ocean pollution by following simple guidelines when working in your garden.

Rainwater and water from our lawns and gardens scour pollutants off streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and other impervious surfaces, carrying them into the storm drain system. Because the storm drain system is separate from our household sewer system, this pollution flows directly into our creeks and ultimately to the San Francisco Bay or the Pacific Ocean - without treatment of any kind!

 

You can help prevent stormwater pollution by being a responsible consumer. You can make a big difference by properly using and disposing of toxic products and keeping yard clippings, dirt, trash, and animal waste out of the gutter and storm drains. For more information about disposing of toxic products, call the County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Hotline at (650) 363-4718.

Take Action:

• Buy permeable materials for patios, driveways and other hard services to reduce runoff. Use the Buy Green search box to find green materials and other building resources at www.recycleworks.org.
• Find out how to dispose of your household hazardous waste properly by calling the HHW Hotline, (650) 363-4718.
• Find alternatives to synthetic fertilizers.

For more great tips and gardening guides go to http://flowstobay.org.

All above information gathered from the San Mateo County Wide Water Pollution Prevention website: http://flowstobay.org.