Shiawassee Conservation District

Hopefully most people are aware of the dangers of pouring oil, pesticides and other products into our storm drains or dumping them into our rivers. Now that leaf raking season is fast approaching, remember storm drains and rivers are no place for leaves either. Some people may think that leaves are from nature, so it can’t hurt the environment if they washed into the storm drain or if they are left along the river banks – right? Wrong. Many leaves will naturally fall into the water, but we should never put the leaves that fall on our lawn in a creek, river or stream. Excessive decaying leaves use up the water’s oxygen, harming the animals that live in the water. Storm drains are designed to take away water runoff. They collect excess water from rain events and move the untreated water into waterways such as the Shiawassee, Maple and Looking Glass Rivers.   When leaves and yard waste collect in the drain system, they block pipes, resulting in the flooding of our roads, waterways...

  The beauty that comes with a fresh snowfall is unmatched. However, it doesn’t take long in Michigan for the temperatures to fluctuate and create rapid snow melt. Just like when rain falls during the rest of the year, melting snow turns into stormwater runoff too! Just as heavy rains wash across our yards, driveways, and parking lots, melting snow does the same thing. While washing across these surfaces, the melting snow picks up any pollutants it encounters and then is transported UNTREATED through storm drains into our nearby rivers, ponds, and lakes. So, any trash, oil, gasoline, or salt you notice on your driveway or local store parking lot can be swept away with melting snow and deposited directly into nearby water. Because of the time of year, snow melt has its own unique stormwater problems. The ground is often frozen at the surface, so the melting snow cannot infiltrate the ground like rainwater can. This creates a higher chance of flooding, either on your property or thro...