As the weather warms up and spring cleaning begins, let’s focus on ways we can eliminate stormwater pollution. Stormwater comes from rain and snowmelt, and stormwater runoff is the water we see in our streets and arroyos when it rains. Pollutants, like oil and gas, trash, animal waste, fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals, get picked up by stormwater runoff and enter our storm drains, channels, and arroyos, quickly making it into our waterways. There are some easy ways you can help reduce pollution in stormwater. These tips are especially relevant when there is more stormwater runoff during our monsoon season starting in June, but applicable throughout the year.

Don’t Toss Out Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)

Automobile fluids, paints, old batteries, pesticides, and other household chemicals should not be thrown away with the rest of your garbage. If taken to the landfill, these substances can leach into our groundwater. And if left out or dumped into streets, storm drains or arroyos, they can make their way to the Rio Grande. This is both harmful to people and the environment. Only stormwater should go into storm drains!

If you have any HHW that you need to dispose of, residents of Bernalillo County can drop off HHW at the Hazardous Waste Collection Center four days a week at no charge. The collection center is located at 6137 Edith Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107. For more information and details you can call Advanced Chemical Transport (ACT) at 505-349-5220 or visit their website. Additionally, most automobile parts stores will accept up to five gallons a day of oil and automobile fluids. Proper disposal of HHW helps protect the health of our watershed.

Washing your car improperly can harm our natural waterways. Dirt, heavy metals, gasoline, and cleaners are rinsed off your car and travel from your driveway to the storm drains, and finally to our streams and rivers. In order to help prevent this pollution, take your car(s) to a local car washing business or follow these easy car washing tips:

• Look for biodegradable soaps
• Wash your car over your yard or lawn to prevent runoff
• Don’t let rinse water run into the streets – only rain in the drains!
• Use a bucket and rag, then dispose dirty water into a sink or toilet

Spring is the time when our yard grows and using fertilizer is a great way to give nutrients to grasses, plants, and trees. However, excessive fertilizer doesn't benefit plant growth. If plants are over fertilized, they won’t grow more, and instead stormwater runoff from rain picks up excess fertilizers and pesticides and takes them to our streams and rivers. High amounts of fertilizers in our river causes nutrient loading, leading to harmful algae blooms that remove oxygen from the water. This is harmful to native fish and other aquatic animals. The best way to apply fertilizer is to use only as recommended on the packaging. Keep your plants healthy, while keeping the Rio Grande!