World Water Day

Happy World Water Day!

Water is one of if not the most important resource and we need to keep it clean. However, through development and urbanization, water quality is being affected. One of the reasons is an increase in run-off. With so many more hard surfaces in cities, more run-off is created and carries all the pollutants from the city directly into the water. Pollutants from lawn fertilizers, car engine oil, pesticides, pet feces, and soap from car washes is all flowing into storm drains and into waterways.

However, there are ways to help mitigate this problem on your own property;

- Collect the rain water from your roof in rain barrels.

- Plant a rain garden: Plant native vegetation in an area where water pools. The plants will help soak up some of the water and filter out the pollutants.

-Make pathways and driveways water permeable: This allows more water to sink into the ground instead of becoming run-off.

The ideas behind this is to: Slow the speed of the run-off, Spread the water to plants, and let the water Sink back into the ground. For more information on how to mitigate water run-off, visit the Okanagan Basin Water Board Website: https://obwb.ca/