Subscribe Now

How much hazardous waste does the average American household accumulate in one year? The typical home accumulates over 20 pounds of household hazardous waste in just one year! Think of paints, pesticides, cleaning supplies, oil, antifreeze and other products that hide away in the basement, garage or shed. These products may contain corrosive, toxic or [...]

When rain falls, some of the water ends up in lakes and rivers, some is used by plants, some evaporates back into the atmosphere, and some seeps through the ground into aquifers – large, natural underground water storage areas.  This groundwater provides more than 40 percent of the U.S. population with drinking water.  Not only [...]

During the winter months, salt and sand applied to our roads, driveways and sidewalks contribute to lake and stream pollution. Fifty pounds of salt – one large bag – can pollute 10,000 gallons of water.  That’s equivalent to one teaspoon of salt in a five-gallon bucket of water. Viewer Tip: Many cities and states are [...]

Did you know the Missouri River is 2,540 miles long and the Mississippi River is 2,340 miles long?  That’s 4,880 miles of river combined – about the same distance as driving from Los Angeles to Charlotte…and back again!  The Missouri River begins in the Rocky Mountains of Western Montana while the Mississippi River begins in [...]

There are many ways to curb the amounts of excess nutrients entering lakes, rivers and streams – a bioretention system is one of them.  Bioretention systems – also called rain gardens – are  landscape best management practices (BMPs) that use filtration to treat storm water runoff in a depressed area.  They can be implemented in [...]

We’re not the only ones who like the summertime.  August is the time when massive algal  blooms tend to beleaguer the shores of our Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.  If you want to see one, follow the trail of algae’s favorite ingredients: hot water and lots of nutrients.  As the [...]

If you live by the water, you’re probably familiar with algae blooms.  You may know what causes them, too – excess nutrients, among other factors. But did you know that erosion can generate nearly as much water-borne phosphorus as farms, yards and water treatment plants?  If you answered yes, then you outsmarted a scientist!  Researchers [...]

Did you know that a typical city block generates more than five times as much rainwater runoff as a forested area of the same size?  This is because rooftops and pavement do not allow water to soak into the ground like forests, wetlands and grasslands do.  Instead, rainwater  runs off pavement into the nearest storm [...]

Get your leashes ready because August 26 is National Dog Day!  Dogs across the United States will be heading outside for walks, frisbee catching and dirt digging.  While outside, these dogs will also be contributing something to the natural environment – waste!  There are over 78 million dog owners in the United States and 28 [...]

Each year, we drench our lawns with enough water to fill the Chesapeake Bay!  That makes grass – not corn – America’s largest irrigated crop.  Our nation’s lawns now cover an area larger than New York State and each year, we use about 2.4 million metric tons of fertilizer just to maintain them.  When there [...]

Everyone loves to play in the yard, but over time your foot traffic actually crushes the soil beneath your feet. This affects the health of your lawn more than you might realize.  For instance, just stepping onto wet ground even once can squash the dirt to within 75 percent of its potential “squish-ability,” if you [...]

Did you know that you can protect water quality just by limiting your water use?  Water conservation puts less stress on our drinking water supplies and diverts less water for municipal use – this helps preserve stream flow and maintain healthy aquatic environments.  Efficient outdoor water use also reduces the amounts of pollutants reaching groundwater [...]

An over-fertilized lawn grows really fast.  You have to mow and water it more often, and it’s more attractive to pests.  But did you know that an over-fertilized lawn can actually harm the environment?  Once your fertilizer saturates the ground with its nutrients, the remainder can’t be absorbed, so up to half of that costly [...]

Are you one of the millions of people making their way to the beach this year?  Beaches provide opportunities to play volleyball, run, relax, swim and do many other activities, but beach closures can put a damper on summer fun. Beach closures occur in coastal areas throughout the United States – according to EPA’s 2010 [...]

Many of our homes, buildings, roads and sidewalks are virtually waterproof – scientists believe that together, these “impervious surfaces” would cover all of France with ease!  Pollutants build up on impervious surfaces until rainwater washes them into waterways, where they can harm sensitive habitats.  Once in these ecosystems, pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus can generate [...]

While we enjoyed the unusually warm weather this past spring and winter, something was brewing in the water.  Algae blooms are back, resurfacing earlier than usual in lakes and streams across the country from the Pacific Northwest to the Florida panhandle.  Some of these blooms have become harmful, inciting warnings in Kansas, forcing lake closures [...]

Did you know that in 2010, Americans cut enough grass and other clippings from their yard to equal the weight of 91 Empire State Buildings?  All that waste has to go somewhere and more than 40 percent of it went into landfills.  Some of that waste made its way into our waterways where its nutrients [...]

Excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, can degrade water quality causing low oxygen levels and harmful algal blooms.  But, can it turn carnivorous plants into vegetarians?  A recent study has shown that excess nutrients in soil are being consumed by these plants and making them “full.”  When the plants become full, they eat fewer [...]

June is National Rivers Month!  Did you know that the United States has over 3,660,000 miles of rivers? That’s enough distance to circle the Earth 146 times!  Freshwater rivers and streams provide drinking and irrigation water, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities and more. Celebrate and protect rivers in your community with these tips: Find out where [...]

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is critical to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Eelgrass (Zostera maritima) and other underwater plants form seagrass “meadows” in the Bay that support a wide variety of algae, bacteria and protozoans that are food for snails, worms and other invertebrates. These invertebrates, in turn, form the base of the food chain for [...]