Here are some easy options you can keep your watershed healthy this winter.

Clean up pet waste

Pet waste quickly winds up in lakes and streams, carried untreated through storm sewer pipes. Yuck!

• Keep up with yard cleaning, especially when warm weather is in the forecast.
• Keep your community clean by picking up your pet’s waste when you are on walks.

Water-Friendly Snow and Ice Removal

Chloride pollution is a real and persistent water quality concern. Road salt can also damage wildlife, harm plants, and impact the soil. Limit your use of salt on sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots as much as possible. A 12 ounce coffee mug is plenty for a 20 foot driveway. Other ways to reduce salt use include:

• Shovel early and often. This will reduce the amount of ice and compact snow during a storm, which will then reduce or eliminate the need for salt.
• Watch the temperature. Under 15 degrees is too cold for salt to melt ice. Applying salt in these colder temperatures will not improve safety.
• Sweep up leftover deicers. You can use the extra ice or sand again, and the excess will stay away from the storm drain,

Adopt A Drain

Show your favorite area lake, river, or stream some love and protect it from runoff pollution. Only 15 minutes twice a month can lead to reduced phosphorus, chloride, and other pollutants in local waters. Learn more and sign up at adopt-a-drain.org

For more tips and stories of residents in your community working for clean water, visit cleanwatermn.org.