Community Members

Did you know that using too much fertilizer can be harmful to the environment? Excess phosphorus and nitrogen flows from lawns into our local waterways and causes toxic algae growth that's harmful to people, pets, and aquatic life. To help protect water quality, it's important to read your fertilizer label and choose one without phosphorous. 

Did you know that Colorado soils are often naturally high in phosphorous? Established lawns most likely do not need additional phosphorous. You can pick a phosphorous-free fertilizer to help protect water quality!

With Spring officially here, we will start to see significant snow melt and potentially heavy rain storms. These storm events provide us a reminder to protect water quality! Rain and melting snow pick up litter, pesticides, fertilizers, and other pollutants from our homes and carry them into storm inlets which drain directly into local waterways without treatment.This is different from wastewater systems, which carry water from indoor drains in our homes, offices, and buildings to wastewater treatment plants before discharging to the local waterway.

The Colorado Stormwater Councils shared Education and Outreach program includes social media, radio, TV, print, online and bus advertisements, and public service announcements. Thank you to all of our members and partners who make this possible through their contributions and collaboration. Without our combined effort, our communities would be much more limited on the number of different media options integrated into our education and outreach programs. This report is a summary of all educational campaigns for 2023. 

The amount of phosphorus in grass clippings generated from just one lawn mowing can produce up to 100 lbs. of unwanted algae if it ends up in our lakes and ponds. Leaf “litter” and landscape trash account for 56% of the phosphorus in urban stormwater, in addition to clogging storm drains and increasing debris in our streams and waterways.

Where is the foam from?

It is common for organic matter naturally found in our waterways to decompose, releasing fatty molecules (lipids) that produce the foam we see on the surface of the water. This happens every year, usually during the spring runoff season, but it can also occur during periods of high precipitation and high temperatures in summer and fall months. The foam is most apparent at locations where the water is naturally agitated by flowing over rocks or discharging from pipes. The foam produced may be more than a foot deep!