It is Stormwater Awareness Week Through October 22, 2022

It is Stormwater Awareness Week, and as villagers, we can help our community this week and throughout the year.

Stormwater Awareness Week offers residents an opportunity to learn how they can take small actions to make a big impact on protecting Springfield Lake.

Some Important Information

Rainwater is great for lawns and gardens but can be dangerous for streams and rivers.

Stormwater can push common household items – such as trash, lawn fertilizer, or paint- into local waterways, threatening our environment and waterways.

Stormwater is also responsible for approximately 60 percent of water quality problems in the state, including harmful algae blooms that regularly plague freshwater lakes.

Stormwater is of concern for two main issues: one related to the volume and timing of runoff water and the other related to potential contaminants that the water is carrying, i.e. water pollution.

It is the largest contributor of water quality pollution to the urban waterways in the US. The problem increases when development occurs without addressing stormwater pollution.

Activities can help to improve the quality of Springfield Lake.

Make it a fun family event and the Water Conservation District’s throughout Ohio are urging residents to take one or more of the following actions.

• Pick up trash in your neighborhood or a local park. It can be a family game to see who can fill up a bag first. Pollution left on roadways, sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots drains directly to our streams and rivers.
• Check the weather report before applying fertilizer to your lawn or any oil or chemicals to driveways and sidewalks. This will protect the environment and your pocketbook.
• Make sure lawns have 3-4 inches of topsoil under the grass. This will reduce runoff, as well as make lawns easier to maintain.
• Plant native plants that have deep roots, which will help break up clay soil and increase the amount of water remaining on a property while benefiting birds, butterflies and bees.
• Plant a tree in your yard or install a rain garden. Trees can soak up 900 gallons of rain a year and a well-designed rain garden almost entirely reduce stormwater from a property.
• Stormwater can also erode away streams, which can cause flooding. Each year, Conservation Districts investigate multiple sources of pollution and assists hundreds of homeowners concerned with stream erosion and flooding, all caused by stormwater runoff.
• Encourage local businesses to become a Water Quality Partner.

Saturday's events:

The week will finish up with events in the village Oct. 22 at Waterworks Park, 2827 Sanitarium Road. Volunteers meet at 10 a.m. and will divide up into teams to pick up litter. It is hoped that trees will be passed out to the volunteers.