|
Click on photo to view larger image
|
We all want clean and safe streams, rivers, and beaches. Consequently, we hold our governmental officials accountable for ensuring that our waters are safe for recreational activities. After all, it is the role of the federal, state, and local governments to introduce and enforce policies, laws, and regulations to guarantee the safety of our swimmable waters. Marylanders can do their part by helping reduce pet and wildlife waste that originates in our backyards, streets, and parks and eventually ends up in our streams and other recreational waters.
“It is MDE’s job to protect public health and the environment and our experts are doing their job to assess potential health threats from all sources, so that we can direct our resources most effectively,” said MDE Secretary Kendl P. Philbrick.
Pet waste left on our lawns, sidewalks, or paved surfaces is carried away by stormwater, ultimately entering our local waterways. Such waste is a known significant source of pollution that contaminates our waters with disease-causing bacteria and parasites. Potentially making the water unfit for swimming or other recreational activities. It also increases the burden on drinking water treatment facilities. Pet and wildlife waste also has other adverse effects on water quality, such as nutrient over-enrichment which results in oxygen depletion.
Pets and Wildlife are a Significant Source of Bacterial Pollution
Currently about 24 non-tidal waterbodies are listed as impaired by bacteria on Maryland’s impaired waters list. In order to address these listings, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is developing non-tidal fecal bacteria Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). Each of these TMDLs establishes a pollution budget that, when implemented, should allow the waterbody to meet a specific water quality standard and achieve its designated use. In the last two years, fecal bacteria TMDLs have been completed for 10 watersheds. The remaining watersheds will be addressed in the future (see Figure 1).
A variety of different bacteria hosts can contribute to overall fecal bacteria contamination. These sources include humans (e.g., septic failures, sewer infrastructure leakage and sewer overflows), livestock (e.g., cows, horses), domestic pets (e.g., dogs, cats), and wildlife (e.g., deer, geese, raccoons, feral pets). Results from recent Maryland fecal bacteria analyses show that fecal bacteria polluting our streams are not just associated with human sources. Domestic pets and wildlife represent a significant source in most examined watersheds. Current TMDL analyses, shows that pet bacteria load contribution ranges from 12 to 33 percent, while wildlife contribution is between 4 and 52 percent (see Figures 2 and 3).
What is the Government Doing to Prevent this Problem?
Our local wastewater treatment plants are addressing a large portion of human bacterial sources. These plants are extremely effective in disinfecting wastewater as part of their standard treatment process. The remaining human sources are managed statewide through regulatory programs that work to reduce sewer overflows (i.e., combined sewer overflow systems and sanitary sewer overflows) and correct failing septic systems.
Presently, MDE, with the help of local governments, is working to reduce the amount of sewage overflows by 50 percent from 2001 levels. This goal is to be achieved by 2010. MDE is also ensuring that sewer overflow reporting is a transparent process. Since 2005, public sewer system owners have been required to report all sewage overflows to the Department. This information is made available to the public on MDE’s website.
Currently, best management practices (BMPs) such as stormwater ponds, filtration systems, and vegetative stream buffers are being introduced throughout the state. BMPs are effective in reducing bacterial levels from all different sources. However, based on recent TMDL studies, these reductions may not be enough to meet instream water quality standards.
What is Expected of Marylanders?
According to recent TMDL studies, the water quality of the streams in many areas of Maryland cannot be restored without curbing the excess pet and wildlife waste that enters our waters. This cannot be done without behavioral changes on an individual level. “As individuals, we not only have a direct influence on what happens to the waste generated by our pets, but we also can have an impact on how much wildlife waste enters our local waterways,” said Dr. Richard Eskin, MDE Technical and Regulatory Services Administration Director.
Wildlife animals (e.g., deer, geese, raccoons, rats) often seek refuge in our neighborhoods because of habitat loss elsewhere. Living near humans provides these creatures with a wealth of unnatural food sources and artificial living quarters. Poorly maintained trash, other household waste, or pet food left unattended, often attract wildlife and encourage these animals to stay permanently, resulting in unintended population explosions. This in turn contributes to the increase of bacterial pollution entering nearby waterways. Poor trash maintenance does not only attract wildlife. “According to a 1982 Baltimore study, bacteria counts are generally higher in alleys with trash and refuse piles as opposed to tidy alleys,” said Dr. Richard Eskin.
Effective Source Control
Here are a few simple steps that we as individuals can take to help reduce bacterial pollution in our local waters:
-
Pick up after pets and properly dispose of the waste (proper disposal includes flushing pet waste down the toilet, throwing it out with the trash, or burying it in the yard)
-
Refrain from feeding wildlife, especially near streams, rivers, or beaches
-
Secure outdoor trash cans
-
Do not leave pet food in areas accessible to wildlife
-
Persuade others to pick up after their pets
-
Encourage local government to introduce pet waste programs
While there are regulatory programs that address bacterial sources, these alone may not be enough to meet fecal bacteria water quality standards. It is essential that each of us recognizes the responsibility for our water quality also rests on us as individual citizens. Curbing bacterial pollution relies on more than regulatory initiatives and requires relatively small changes in our own backyards.
|
