Take steps to prevent waste from reaching bay and ocean
Back in the day when Jackson was a mostly rural township the rainwater fell to the ground and was readily absorbed. The tree roots allowed much of it to filter deep into the ground. Today, lawns, driveways, roofs and other impervious ground cover force that water into storm drains in the streets that never existed (before). That water now finds itself rushing through streets and pipes, and eventually into the many streams.

Unfortunately, those streams have now become used to running at what is called base flow because they haven't had the slow filtered flow of water from the ground. This rush of water after rain acts much like a toilet when it is flushed. It takes waste materials with it. The waste materials in this case are fertilizer and pesticide runoff, pet feces, grass clippings, oil drippings, road salt, car wash soaps and waxes as well as many other things not usually found in rain water. Fast food cups, wrappers, bottles and cans also end up in places that can't absorb them.

Eventually most all of the rainwater that falls in Jackson ends up in Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, but not before going through towns that use some of it for drinking water or flooding roads that never flooded before.

Have you noticed lately now that the stream water flow is low that there is a great deal of green stuff growing in the streams and ponds along the way to the bay? That is because irrigation systems drain off much of the ground water. Additionally, the high nitrogen content of the water that flows off of lawns into the street when they are irrigated encourages water plant growth.

So what are we to do? Should we say we aren't drinking that water and the bay is someone else's problem? Or should we be aware of the things that contribute to the destruction of the environment around us and change our habits? Many of them will end up saving us money in the long run. Here are 10 things to do:

1. Plant native trees, shrubs and grasses that are better adapted to our sandy acid soils, those that can tolerate less nutrients and irrigation.

2. Use mulching lawn mowers and not pick up clippings.

3. Test lawns for nitrogen, ph and other nutrients and only use what is needed and not more. That eventually saves you money.

4. Make a rain garden for roof runoff water.

5. Stop throwing stuff out car windows.

6. Stop putting lawn clippings in piles where they can leach into streams. This cuts down on flies and stink as well.

7. Never use storm drains to discard anything other than rain.

8. Cut grass at the highest level. Taller grass chokes out weeds and builds better root systems.

9. Plant more trees wherever possible and reduce lawn size to save money and resources.

10. Reduce lawn watering to minimum levels to save water, money and runoff.

Bill Pollock

Jackson