Ten things that ordinary people can do to improve water quality

1. WATER'S TEN MOST-WANTED
Or: How Your Cat is Trying to Kill You
Brian Gongol
DJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
November 3, 2016
Nebraska Section AWWA Fall Conference
Kearney, Nebraska

2. If the water cycle means anything...

3. Then drinking-water professionals need to speak up

4. Garbage in, garbage out
Source water protection is massively important
to the quality of public drinking water

5. These are ten enemies of clean source water

6. We're only talking about domestic sources

7. Forget agricultural runoff and pollutants
Runoff is a huge issue,
but few of us talk directly
to farmers

8. Forget industrial pollution
It's a convenient boogeyman,
but regulators are already involved

9. Don't let households off the hook

10. We want the public to take ownership
Nobody washes or waxes a rented car

11. Public Enemy #1: Geese

12. What's the problem?
They're obnoxious, obviously

13. But they also pollute directly into urban ponds

14. What's the public doing wrong?
The public really doesn't understand
the impact of nutrients

15. What do we want them to change?
Understand the nutrient-pollution relationship

16. What do we want them to change?
Recognize nutrient-overloaded
bodies of water
in their own neighborhood

17. Public Enemy #2: Dogs and cats

18. What's the problem?
America has a huge
number of pets

19. What's the problem?
Those pets relieve themselves
of an enormous volume of waste

20. What's the public doing wrong?
Plenty of jerks don't clean up after their pets

21. What's the public doing wrong?
Pet waste gets on your shoes...
But it also washes into storm drains

22. What's the public doing wrong?
Pet waste is highly concentrated
and contaminates storm sewers,
streams, rivers, and creeks

23. What do we want them to change?
Recognize that domestic pets like Fido and Fluffy
aren't "just like" wild rabbits and deer

24. What do we want them to change?
Realize that pets eat concentrated food
and create concentrated waste

25. What do we want them to change?
Clean up after pets and dispose of waste properly

26. Public Enemy #3: Trees

27. What's the problem?
Leaves and yard waste
get into storm sewers
and create nutrient problems

28. What's the public doing wrong?
People dump grass clippings in the street
and blow leaves into the storm sewers

29. What do we want them to change?
Mulch yard waste back into the soil

30. What do we want them to change?
Collect leaves and yard waste for composting

31. Public Enemy #4: Lawn fertilizer

32. What's the problem?
Runoff from over-fertilized lawns
puts nitrogen and phosphorus
into source water

33. What's the public doing wrong?
Dumping too much fertilizer
on residential lawns in pursuit
of golf-course perfection

34. What's the public doing wrong?
Fertilizing at the wrong time

35. What's the public doing wrong?
Cutting grass at the wrong height

36. What's the public doing wrong?
Watering like idiots

37. What do we want them to change?
Fertilize efficiently

38. What do we want them to change?
Water efficiently

39. What do we want them to change?
Accept that a picture-perfect lawn
is not a sane goal

40. Public Enemy #5: Spray-applied pesticides
Not this kind, but the household kind

41. What's the problem?
Spray feeders and nozzles on garden hoses
create a huge backflow risk

42. What's the public doing wrong?
Almost willfully ignoring
the risk of backflow
from our chemical-happy habits

43. What do we want them to change?
Learn that backflow prevention
is primarily for their own protection

44. What do we want them to change?
Recognize the hazards of
putting water supplies
in close contact
with dangerous chemicals

45. Public Enemy #6: Aging pipes

46. What's the problem?
Old pipes passing through contaminated areas can
introduce chemicals to drinking-water systems, especially
when low-pressure events create passing vacuums at joints

47. What's the public doing wrong?
Blindly imagining that water infrastructure
is free and lasts forever

48. What do we want them to change?
Recognize that investing in water infrastructure
protects public health and has no substitute

49. Public Enemy #7: Prescription drugs

50. What's the problem?
Pharmaceuticals are going through people
and finding their way into source water

51. What's the public doing wrong?
Using antibiotics like morons

52. What's the public doing wrong?
Flushing drugs down the (space) toilet

53. What do we want them to change?
Use antibiotic soaps and cleaners sparingly and sensibly
* NOTE: The FDA is making this mandatory anyway

54. What do we want them to change?
Dispose of used or expired pharmaceuticals
through proper channels

55. Public Enemy #8: Fresh paint

56. What's the problem?
Users put all kinds of contaminants down the drain

57. What's the public doing wrong?
People wash brushes and rags
and drain the waste
straight into the sink

58. What do we want them to change?
Think before you flush (or send it down any drain)

59. What do we want them to change?
Use hazardous waste cleanup days
to dispose of old paints, varnishes,
and similar materials

60. What do we want them to change?
Use non-water methods of cleanup

61. Public Enemy #9: Sidewalk/driveway salt

62. What's the problem?
Aggressive
measures to clear
snow and ice from
roads, sidewalks,
and driveways
ultimately sends
salt into receiving
streams

63. What's the public doing wrong?
Salting the
ground like a
super-sized
order of
French fries

64. What do we want them to change?
Think about the use of salt, sand, and grit
on pavement before dumping them mindlessly

65. Public Enemy #10: Cars

66. What's the problem?
Oil leaks

67. What's the problem?
Gasoline spillage

68. What's the problem?
Household car washing

69. What's the public doing wrong?
Creating non-point-source pollution with
careless oil changes

70. What's the public doing wrong?
Creating non-point-source pollution with
sloppy fill-ups

71. What's the public doing wrong?
Creating non-point-source pollution with
inefficient household car washing

72. What do we want them to change?
Realize that everything that
spills on the ground
flows downstream

73. What do we want them to change?
Use dedicated car washes

74. What do we want them to change?
Dispose properly of used motor oil

75. That's ten big enemies of source-water quality

76. Let's figure out what you can do to help

77. Tools you can use

78. Bill stuffers

79. Advertising and PSAs

80. Newspaper columns

81. TV and radio interviews
Check out the efforts
of Bill Stowe at
Des Moines
Water Works

82. Parades

83. Parades
This is outreach!

84. Open houses

85. Internet presence (in three parts)

86. Website(s) - You aren't limited to just one

87. Facebook

88. Twitter

89. Luncheon talks

90. Summary
 Safe drinking water really is everyone's business
 Public buy-in is required
 You're in the best position to make the case
 Help people see these 10 problems (and more!)
 People are motivated by a sense of ownership
 Use all of the tools at your disposal

91. There's a lot the public needs to know
Ask me (or someone else)
if you need help!

92. Any questions?
 Brian Gongol • DJ Gongol & Associates
 515-223-4144
 brian@gongol.net
 @djgongol on Facebook or Twitter

93. References
 Water-cycle image is public-domain work by the EPA
 https://www3.epa.gov/safewater/kids/pdfs/graphic_grades_k-
3_watercycle.pdf
 Aerial photo of Lincoln, Nebraska is public-domain work by the USGS
 https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/564d77fbe4b0112df6
c4fffa
 Pet quantities from the American Veterinary Medical Association
 https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Statistics/Pages/Market-
research-statistics-US-pet-ownership.aspx
 All other photographs and illustrations are original work of Brian
Gongol. Copyright and all other rights reserved.