How You Can Help Prevent Storm Water Pollution to the Bay

Below are ten things you can do around your home, in your yard and in the community to help reduce the flow of storm water pollution to the Bay.

• Limit your pesticide and fertilizer use. Pesticides can harm aquatic life such as fish and amphibians, and fertilizer releases phosphorus into our waterways, which can cause algal blooms that deplete oxygen and block sunlight in the water.
• Reuse rainwater. Reduce your water consumption and storm water pollution to the Bay by capturing rainwater in cisterns or buckets outside your home for reuse later. Learn more at the storm water management section of www.SFwater.org.
• Practice Bay-friendly car maintenance. When you wash your car in your driveway or street, harmful chemicals flow into storm drains and end up in the Bay. Instead, take your car to a car wash facility where the water is diverted to a wastewater treatment plant. Also, check your car regularly for leaks – oil and gas leaks leave residues on the road that will eventually be flushed into the Bay.
• Don’t pour hazardous products down the drain or into street gutters. Once they enter the sewer system, many hazardous chemicals used in commercial cleaning and yard products end up in the Bay, harming fish, birds and other wildlife. Always take toxic household and yard products to a hazardous waste collection facility. Visit www.Earth911.com for locations.
• Plant a rain garden. Direct the rainwater from your roof, driveway and walkways to a garden containing native, drought-resistant plants. A rain garden absorbs rainwater and breaks down pollutants naturally instead of allowing polluted water to flow to the Bay. For instructions on how to build one, visit www.RainGardenNetwork.com.
• Clean up litter and trash when you see it. Whatever trash makes its way to our gutters gets washed into the Bay when it rains, so make sure that you keep the lids on your trash and recycle bins firmly closed.
• Use ashtrays. Cigarette butts are one of the most common types of trash found on our beaches.
• Pick up after your pet. Bacteria, parasites and viruses from pet waste can easily wash into storm drains and end up in the Bay without being treated.
• Help your city build Bay-friendly storm water systems. Learn more about the storm water systems where you live, and support funding increases for infrastructure repairs and upgrades. It’s important that we invest in maintaining effective storm drains and sewer pipes in order to reduce pollution to the Bay. You can find your local storm water program at the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association website, www.BASMAA.org.
• Become a supporter of San Francisco Baykeeper. We’ve been the Bay’s pollution watchdog since 1989, strengthening clean water laws and holding polluters accountable. Support a clean and healthy Bay for all by making a contribution today.