The document provides tips for gardeners on how to protect the watershed. It explains that storm drains direct runoff straight into waterways without treatment, potentially contaminating streams, rivers, and lakes. Simple changes like using integrated pest management and native plants that require less water and pesticides can help prevent pollutants from entering storm drains. The Community for a Clean Watershed program aims to protect the county's watersheds from stormwater pollution.

1. Watershed Protection
Tips for
Gardeners
The Watershed Should
Only Shed Water
The storm drain system is a vast network
of gutters, pipes and open channels
designed for flood control, which directs
runoff – untreated – from the watershed
straight into the waterways.
How Can You Help Keep Polluted stormwater contaminates
the Watershed Clean? streams, rivers and lakes. It can kill or
Whether your home is one mile or damage plants, fish and wildlife, and
many miles from the Pacific Ocean, can degrade the quality of our water.
what starts in your garden can end
up as toxic stormwater runoff and The Community for a Clean Watershed
contribute to coastal pollution. program was established to protect
Ventura County’s watershed by
You can do the right thing and keep preventing stormwater pollution.
preventable pollutants out of the
storm drain system. Unlike sewer For more information on how to keep
systems, storm drain systems direct our watersheds clean, go to
runoff, untreated, straight into local cleanwatershed.org.
waterways.
What Is Our Watershed?
Preventable pollutants include both Our watershed is the total land area, including
seen and unseen materials that your yard, from which stormwater drains into
accumulate in our yards, driveways, streams, rivers or other bodies of water. In
gutters and streets and that damage Ventura County our primary watersheds drain
our watersheds. into the Ventura and
Santa Clara Rivers,
Simple changes in the way we care for Malibu and Calleguas
our gardens can make a big difference cleanwatershed.org Creeks and the marinas
and estuaries that flow
in keeping our watersheds clean.
into the Pacific Ocean. cleanwatershed.org
Printed on recycled paper
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2. Clean Gardening Practices Integrated Pest
Management (IPM)
Plant Selection sprinkler heads to minimize runoff that
IPM is an eco-friendly approach to
carries pollutants into the storm drain
Select pest-resistant effective pest management. Its goal
system.
and drought-resistant is to use less-toxic methods to reduce
native plants for your the use of pesticides, creating a system
garden to reduce the
Fertilizers & Pesticides
that is safe for your family and the
need for pesticides, Overuse of any environment. To learn more, go to
fertilizers and water. pesticide or fertilizer the UC Davis IPM resource site at
Create landscaped is a key contributor to ipm.ucdavis.edu.
areas next to stormwater pollution.
sidewalks and driveways to naturally Apply only as needed Maintenance
collect and filter any potentially polluted and as directed on
the label, and always Clear, remove and
runoff from paved surfaces. Go to recycle yard debris
bewaterwise.com for a California- store under cover, out
of the rain. Never use such as leaves and
Friendly Gardening Guide. grass cuttings by
fertilizers or pesticides around water,
placing them in your
Irrigation drains, bare ground or if rain is predicted
yard waste bin or by
within 24 hours. Avoid using copper
Save water and composting. Even organic waste, when
sulfate root killing products. Pesticides
money by automating flushed or blown into storm drains,
that contain diazinon
your sprinkler system. can create flooding and pollute the
or chlorpyrifos have
Irrigate after dusk or watershed. Rotting plant material can
been banned and
early in the morning also reduce the oxygen available for
should be disposed
when less water is aquatic wildlife and increase the
of at your local
lost to wind and presence of harmful bacteria.
Household Hazardous
evaporation. Even during the hot summer
Waste* collection *Go to wasteless.org for locations and hours of
months, there is no need to water every
center or event. Household Hazardous Waste collection centers and
day. Routinely fix leaks and damaged events throughout Ventura County.
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