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Things
you can do to help keep your lakes and streams clean:
If you want to help birds and make sure they
have a good food supply (fish, crustaceans, etc.) from the lake
environment, spread the word about alternatives to pesticides and
fertilizers (excessive algae growth caused by fertilizers disrupts
the natural balance in the lake, causing dangerously low oxygen
levels to occur in the nighttime hours). Organic gardening is
becoming very popular among nature lovers, and in Texas there are
many alternative methods to control fire ants. Please consider
the extreme toxicity of Diazinon to birds and other wildlife
before using it around the home or on your lawn. A local expert
biologist told me that he has found boiling water to be much more
effective than pesticides for controlling fire ants. In Texas,
you can also join the Texas Watch Environmental Monitoring Program
and begin monitoring things such as pH and dissolved oxygen in
your local creeks and lakes. Many other states have similar
programs. I will be monitoring Meadow Lake as soon as I receive a
monitoring kit. I have taken the Texas Watch class to become a
monitor.
I have started picking up trash at the lake
because I have noticed a lot of trash coming from the storm drain
system into the lake near Settlement Drive. Rain washes a mix of
pollutants off of our streets, parking lots, and neighborhood
yards. Pollutants such as soil, pet waste, motor oil, antifreeze,
grass clippings, pesticides, and fertilizers wash into storm
drains and eventually into the rivers and lakes without being
treated at all. This is in contrast to the wastewater system that
takes waste from the drains inside your house to the City
Treatment Plant before it enters the rivers and lakes. This
treated water is in many cases of higher quality than the water
that is in the river already (untreated runoff carrying pollutants
from neighborhoods, farms, etc.) This polluted runoff kills
wildlife and contaminates our waterways.
Easy ways to reduce pollution:
1.Keep all litter out of storm drains, and bring a
trash bag with you on walks near streams and lakes to pick up
trash (don't forget your gloves!).
2.Pick up pet waste. Wrap it tightly in a bag, and
throw it in the garbage. Or flush it down the toilet.
3.Recycle used motor oil and antifreeze.
4.Learn about organic gardening, instead of
resorting to pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
5.To minimize pest infestations, don't grow large
areas of a single crop. (mix crops to create diversity like nature
does)
5.Compost your grass clippings.
6.Take unwanted household chemicals, oil paints,
and solvents to a hazardous household waste collection center.
We as humans often restrict consumption of
fish that contain harmful pesticides and chemicals, but waterbirds
don't have a choice, since their full diet consists of fish and
other creatures in our lakes and streams. We also have the luxury
of drinking treated water from our treatment plants, whereas birds
and other wildlife must drink from the streams and lakes we have
contaminated. According to the U.S. EPA report, "In 1998, about
40% of U.S. streams, lakes and estuaries that were assessed were
not clean enough to support uses such as fishing and swimming.
Recent water quality data finds that more than 291,000 miles of
assessed rivers and streams do not meet water quality standards.
Across all types of waterbodies, states, territories, tribes and
other jurisdictions report that poor water quality affects aquatic
life, fish consumption, swimming, and drinking water." The more
the public learns about these issues, the faster we can do
something about it and put an end to the needless suffering
experienced by wildlife.
Source: Meadow Lake - http://www.birdcrossstitch.com/environment/MeadowLake.html |
