Household Practices That Affect Stormwater

Many of us look forward to the coming of spring after a long, cold winter. With the warmer weather of spring, many find themselves preparing for the lawn care season. The City performs designated debris pick ups so that you can put your winter yard debris on the grassed terraced area between the curb and sidewalk. Please DO NOT sweep or wash your grass clippings into the street. These practices can add excessive nutrients to waterways that can lead to algae blooms which decrease the quality of water that we all enjoy.

Remember that over applying fertilizers and pesticides to our lawns can allow those chemicals to be washed off of our lawns into storm sewer systems. These systems ultimately lead to our streams, rivers and lakes. We all want great looking lawns. However, do we want them at the expense of our wetlands, streams, rivers and lakes?

The fall brings with it falling leaves. It is important to remember that there are designated pick-up dates that the City will pick-up your leaves free of charge. Leaves need to be placed in the grassed terrace in front of the sidewalk. Leaves are not to be placed in the street as this could cause flooding from storm drains becoming clogged by tremendous amounts of leaves being washed down the street. There are also two composting sites that are provided by Manitowoc County where you can dispose your leaf waste. You may also choose to use one of the local providers. The dates of the brush pick-up, fall leaf collection, and spring clean up will be posted here when available. If this is a time when pick up is not available, please use one of the following alternatives.

The operating hours of the Composting Sites are listed below. Please take advantage of these facilities. They are supplied to make disposal of yard wastes convenient.

4211 Woodland Drive-Open mid-April to mid-November

HOURS:

April - November

November - April

Pet waste is also a problem that can affect storm sewer systems. People who have pets should be sure to properly dispose of pet waste. There are two ways you can help the storm sewer system when it comes to your pets. You can flush pet waste down the toilet, or you can bury it. Remember, always properly dispose of pet waste. Pet waste that enters a storm sewer system can negatively impact our local surface waters by increasing bacteria and by adding to unwanted plants and algae that diminish clear clean waters leaving them stagnant and sludge covered by the extra nutrients that are added by pet waste. Here is a link to a web page that can help you to better understand the affects of pet waste on surface water runoff.

Beach Notifications

The City of Manitowoc is known and admired for the sandy beaches that cover its shoreline. Beach health can be directly linked to the condition of the City's stormwater. Pollutants, lawn wastes, and pet wastes that are put into the storm drain system eventually make their way to our beaches, rivers and wetlands. These wastes and pollutants can have a detrimental effect on our beaches. Beach closings are a direct result of the careless disposal of wastes. If we want our beaches to continue to be open for the summer, we need to take special care in how we dispose of and use household materials. Read below to learn more on what YOU can do to improve the condition of our beaches, rivers, and wetlands.