Word of the Week: Nonpoint Source Pollution

Nonpoint Source Pollution is contaminants from multiple sources such as litter, oil, grease, metals, rubber, dirt, fertilizers, pesticides, animal waste, and other things left behind by people, automobiles, and animals. These get picked up by rainwater and carried into local waterways.

The 380,000 outdated cesspools in Suffolk County are another example of nonpoint source nitrogen pollution & a massive threat to the health of the Great South Bay.

Nonpoint source pollution is the primary way that nitrogen and other pollutants are entering the Great South Bay and its estuaries.

This is why addressing the problem is so challenging, as it's hard enough to locate and quantify pollution sources, much less solve them.

While comprehensive solutions are the only way that this problem can be finally solved, here are 10 small changes proposed in the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan that you can make in your life to reduce nonpoint source pollution.

1. Be smart - fertilize your lawn responsibly but it's best to not use fertilizers at all.
2. Keep grass clippings on the lawn.
3. Replace your septic system or cesspool with an innovative and advanced treatment system.
4. Sweep up any grass clippings and fertilizer spills on driveways, sidewalks, and streets.
5. Direct downspouts into plant beds (rather than down the driveway).
6. Plant trees and other native plants.
7. Leave a wide strip of deep-rooted plants along the shoreline.
8. Pick up pet waste and reduce "poo-lution" (even in your own backyard).
9. Drive less.
10. Use a commercial car wash rather than washing your vehicle at home.

Save The Great South Bay is a local environmental non-profit whose mission is to restore water quality in the Great South Bay for future generations to enjoy. Our Word of the Week initiative aims to make the scientific vocabulary of environmentalism accessible to everyone. View past Words of the Week at www.savethegreatsouthbay.org under News & Events in the Photo Gallery.