Good Things #14

An article I read this morning that I wanted to share.

Fireworks contribute to storm drain gunk

Until recently, I had never thought much about storm drains. I'd considered them about as much as I had considered the color of my mail carrier's socks, which is to say, not at all.
But thanks to the Clean Rivers and Streams Coalition, I'm now aware the drains empty right into our rivers and streams.

There's no stop at a waste-water treatment plant for the water to freshen up. So if people leave out dog poop or wash their car or change their oil or fertilize their yard and it runs into the streets, the storm drains fast track it all into the rivers.

The coalition is always trying to find new ways to remind people to take care of the drains. Thus this week's caution about fireworks.

"We're not saying we don't want people to have fun - of course we do," said Karen DeBaker, communications supervisor for Clean Water Services, which treats wastewater in the Tualatin River watershed. "We want them to be smart about it. There's debris left over afterward and that runs into our rivers and streams via the storm drain."

Traditionally, fireworks, flares and other pyrotechnics have contained potassium perchlorate, which provides the oxygen all that stuff needs to burn.

But perchlorate is a pollutant. And there are plastics in fireworks too. The big worry is that those things will hurt our waterways.

A short Q&A with DeBaker:

Q: Should people chase down their fireworks to collect the debris?
A: No, but pick up anything on the ground around your house or apartment.

Q: What about our cars? How do we wash them if we're not supposed to let soapy water run into the street?
A: It's best to go to a car wash, but with people trying to save money right now, that's not realistic for everyone. The next best thing is to drive the car onto the lawn and wash it there.

Q: But won't that kill the grass?
A: It shouldn't. If it does, it's definitely not a good chemical to send into storm drains.