Introducing... Sierra Neighborhoods!!!
by Scott VreelandWhen it rains or when snow melts, pollutants from our homes, yards, gardens, roads and parking lots are carried down storm drains. Our streets have become streams that carry disease and destruction. This toxic mix of bacteria, litter, fertilizer, sediment and over 70,000 man-made poisons is headed to our lakes and rivers, the places where we swim and fish and get our drinking water.
In urban and suburban areas, the main source of our pollution is no longer factory pipes or untreated sewage. The main source of pollution is what William Boudreau, author of Recipes for Clean Water calls, "the thoughtless by-products of our urban lifestyle." This pollution, from many hard-to-pinpoint locations is called non-point pollution. This can be a very challenging problem because it involves raising awareness and changing behaviors on national, state, local, neighborhood and individual scales. Non-point source pollution is a fancy name for the pollution coming from snow melt and storm water runoff.
The newly formed Sierra Neighborhoods Committee is focused on two issues. First, making sure that Sierra Club members are well informed about storm water issues both as advocates for clean water and as practitioners of best management practices in their own homes. Second, we are starting a program that will center on neighborhoods that are interested in participation, to provide education and encourage more environmentally sound behaviors. Making improvements to homes, yards, gardens and blocks will improve water quality and our quality of life.
We would like to present the message that our streets are our streams so we shouldn't put anything we don't want in our river or lake in our street.
We would like to deal with the complexity of the issues, but also provide some simple guidance that can help greater numbers of people be part of the solution. For example:
- Our yard waste: The amount of leaves and grass that end up in our lakes and rivers causes problems for water clarity, sedimentation, turbidity, and excess nutrient loading, especially nitrogen and phosphorus which leads to algae blooms. Mow and keep the clippings out of the street by keeping them off hard surfaces. Mulch grass clippings or compost them to retain natural (and free) fertilizer. Mulch or compost leaves to use as (free) fertilizer. Sweep leaves out of the street and out of the drains. Excess phosphorus fuels an explosive growth of algae that forms a green scum on top of the water. This layer blocks sunlight, and with no light, underwater plants can't grow. The algae dies, uses up oxygen, and the fish and underwater creatures cannot survive.
- Toxins in our streets and yards: The proper use of pesticides and fertilizers and/or natural alternatives is very important. Add no phosphorus (the middle number, such as in 10-0-10, represents phosphorus content). Reduce the amount of toxins in the home. The average household has between 4-10 gallons of materials that are hazardous to human health. Battery or push mowers can eliminate the need for the pouring of gas and oil that gets spilled in gas powered mowers. Keep cars tuned and not leaking, and wash cars over grassy areas and with phosphorus-free solutions. Residents need good information about how to deal with spills and the proper disposal of hazardous waste.
- Winter salt applications: The chloride in these salts can cause problems for plants, invertebrates, and water quality, as well as the cyanide that is incorporated into the product to prevent clumping. Its better to use sand on walkways and sweep it up at the end of the season. Keep it in a bucket for reuse next year.
- Pet wastes: Pet owners and residents who don't have pets can help with the poo problem. Leaves and grass can absorb and amplify bacterial problems that cause waterborne diseases.
- Planting and landscaping for water quality: People can make positive changes to their landscapes that improve infiltration, decrease water use, increase the urban canopy, and restore habitat. Native plants should be planted because they are naturally drought tolerant and that means less watering and less runoff. And, they are adapted to our soils and don't need fertilizers or pesticides to survive. They also have deeper root systems that create more airspace in the soil and increase infiltration and reduce soil erosion. Swales and rain gardens should be created, and turf grass re-evaluated to immediately improve water quality. Use rain barrels and rain gardens to collect roof water.
- Best management practices: People can address water quantity and quality issues in bigger ways too. Larger projects, such as installing porous paving, can provide a hard surface while still allowing infiltration. Green roofs can absorb rainwater and extend the life of roofing while lowering urban temperatures arising from sunlight reflection off of pavement and buildings. Cisterns can collect large volumes of water for reuse. Drain spouts can to redirected to make use of water falling off our roofs. Infiltration ponds can be very attractive and be built on a neighborhood scale. Sprawl and transportation issues are also related to water quality with their heavy need for impervious surfaces, and runoff from these areas needs to be dealt with locally, in those neighborhoods. Removing invasive non-native plants like Buckthorn also improves habitat and the natural ecology of the neighborhood.
Sierra Neighborhoods is starting this spring with three neighborhoods that have a number of Sierra Club members who are willing to work with their neighbors and neighborhood groups. These pilot projects would provide guidance, educational materials, and a list of things that folks could do in their yards and homes to improve water quality, and will also reach out to multi-unit dwellings and businesses. Gatherings or parties will provide opportunities for neighbors to get together to learn about the program and its value to them personally and for the areas waters. After achieving a certain number of practices, one would become a "Sierra Neighbor" and would receive a token of appreciation (in addition to the knowledge that they are helping to protect water quality!). A neighborhood that has a certain percentage of Sierra Neighbors would become a Sierra Neighborhood, and would receive an award for this accomplishment.
These first three pilot neighborhoods will be located in Minneapolis and can tie in with the new storm water utility program changes and credits that the city is working on. See http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/stormwater/what-we-do/StormwaterRate.asp for further information. We are hoping to replicate the Sierra Neighborhoods program in other areas of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, and beyond.
In the 2005 National Sierra Club Conservation update, Bruce Hamilton outlined three key principles for conservation work this year:
- Building the environmental community
- Advocating visionary solutions, and
- Taking the initiative.
The Sierra Neighborhoods program is focused on those three principles. It is the most basic effort of getting neighbors to work with neighbors on environmental issues. We have Sierra Club members to help organize these efforts and work with block clubs and neighborhood groups. It is literally a grass roots effort if we can get folks to plant more Big Bluestem and less Kentucky Bluegrass.
As an aside, a few summers ago the Seward Neighborhood sponsored an African and new immigrant River Cruise on one of the Paddleford boats. Just prior to our cruise there was a thunderous deluge, an incredibly strong rainstorm after a summer drought, but it cleared up enough for the boat trip to take place. But the Mississippi was a carpet of cigarette butts for the entire journey. It is an image I will never forget.
Please contact Scott Vreeland at or at (612) 721-7892, or Kelsey McDonald at or (651) 290-2099 if you are interested in helping with this program!