Pioneer Valley
Planning Commission

Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, MA

Media Release

CONTACT: Anne Capra, PVPC Principal Planner (413) 781-6045
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2009

Pet Owners Can Protect Paets and Water Quality

This fall, area residents will learn how picking up after their dogs affects local water quality. Fliers about this important topic will be distributed at area Household Hazardous Waste Days and in local veterinary clinics.

What can pet owners do? When you reach for the leash, grab a bag! Just as you bring bags to the grocery store, bring a bag along when you walk the dog to pick up after your pet. Pet waste left on the ground carries disease-causing bacteria, parasites and viruses that can infect people who come in contact with it. It is then picked up by stormwater and flushed by rainfall into storm drains and out to waterways, making them unsafe for recreational activities such as fishing and swimming. Bagged pet waste should be disposed of in the trash only. Local Departments of Public Works have reported bagged pet waste in storm drains, causing clogged pipes. Storm sewers drain to local waterways, not to wastewater treatment plants.

Veterinary clinics will also be able to offer their clients information about the dangers of lawn chemicals to pet health. Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers pose a significant threat to water quality, as well. These chemicals can be flushed by rainfall into storm drains and our local waters, creating unsafe conditions for fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including humans.

The dangers of lawn chemicals to pets will be further highlighted in The Truth About Cats, Dogs, and Lawn Chemicals (http://catsdogslawns.org), a documentary video by and about animal lovers trying to rid their communities of toxic lawn chemicals. Solidly based in the latest science and played out in personal experience, the film showcases research scientists, neighborhood veterinarians, lawn care experts, show dogs and cats, and family pets and their people, including a local resident and organic lawn care advocate in Longmeadow as well as Safeground Organics, a Northampton-based organic land care company. The film will be available for veterinary clinics to screen for clients. For more information about safer alternatives to lawn chemicals, go to www.Greenscapes.org.

This outreach is being delivered through the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission’s regional Stormwater Committee. Many local communities are required by their Federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Permit to perform education and outreach to their residents about the sources of stormwater pollution and ways to reduce it. Pet waste and lawn chemicals are known potential sources of stormwater pollution. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified stormwater as the leading source of water pollution nationwide. This outreach is part of the larger Think Blue campaign about stormwater pollution and its effect on our waters. For more information about Think Blue, visit www.ThinkBlueMa.org.

Regional Stormwater Committee member communities include Agawam, Chicopee, Easthampton, Granby, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Ludlow, South Hadley, Springfield, Westfield, and West Springfield. To join the Stormwater Committee, contact Anne Capra at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission at acapra@pvpc.org.