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You can help preserve our coastal waters by reducing your own personal nutrient footprint. Here are some of the things you can do to make a difference:
1. Fertilize Responsibly
- Follow the Fertilizer Ordinance (Use Nitrogen -limited/slow release products)
- Don’t fertilize in the summer (Rainy Season)
- Don’t fertilize within 10 feet of a waterway
- Keep grass cuttings on your lawn and out of storm drains and waterways
- Create compost and use less fertilizer
- Create a chemical-filtering no-mow zone around bodies of water
2. Keep Storm Drains Clean
3. Pick Up after your pet
4. Use less water
- Direct your sprinklers onto the grass, not the sidewalk or street
- Use a rain gauge with your irrigation system
- Don’t irrigate during or after a rain event
- Check the flapper valves in your toilets
- Let your dishwasher do the work
- Don’t run the water when you brush your teeth
- Take shorter showers
5. Minimize runoff from your yard
- Direct downspouts into the lawn or plant beds
- Use permeable paving for driveways and walkways
6. Dispose of kitchen waste responsibly
- Keep cooking oils and fats out of your sink drain
- They accumulate and block up your plumbing and the sewer pipes
- Blockages in the sewer can cause spills that end up in our waterways
7. Dispose of bathroom waste responsibly
- Only put toilet paper into your toilet
- Other items like tissues and wipes can clog up pipes
8. Use less electricity
- Turn off the lights and TV when you leave the room
- Switch to LED Lighting
- Install rooftop solar panels for water and pool heating
9. Soften your shoreline
- Consider a living seawall when it’s time for replacement
- Add a mangrove facing for your existing seawall
10. Install a mini reef under your dock
- Creates habitat for water-filtering sea life like sea squirts, crabs and oysters
- Reef inhabitants attract a wide variety of fish that feed on the reef
- Filters 30,000 gallons of sea water a day
- Durable: lasts 15 years or more
- Virtually maintenance free
- Tax deductible: 50%
- Cost: $250 with FREE Installation
- Contact Us to Order
Practicing these nutrient reducing/water saving measures in your every day life will reduce your nutrient footprint and help preserve our coastal waters.
