Did you know that blowing or sweeping grass clippings, fallen leaves, or other yard waste into the street or down the storm drain can cause flooding?  Yard waste that is swept or blown into a nearby storm drain can clog the storm drain and keep water from draining through.  The problem can become a big one during a hard rain. 

Properly manage your yard waste.  There’s no need to bag it, just leave it a lawn!
 
Why?  Leaving your yard waste on the lawn is:
 
●  Good for your landscape.  Grass clippings and fallen leaves are truly a valuable natural resource.  Grass clippings left on the lawn can provide up to 25% of your lawn’s total fertilizer needs and leaves contain 50 to 80% of the nutrients a plant extracts from the soil and air during the season.  To keep these nutrients where they can nourish your lawn, mulch grass clippings and leaves and leave them on the lawn, or compost them.
 
●  Good for your wallet.  Not only does blowing or sweeping yard waste into the street or nearby storm drains consume taxpayers’ money, but bagging this yard waste to be hauled off to the landfill also uses valuable landfill space and costs residents more in increased taxes and service fees.  By leaving grass clippings and leaves on your lawn, you are supplying it with natural fertilizers, which means you spend less money on store-bought fertilizers.
 
●  Good for Garland lakes, streams and creeks.  Yard waste that is left, dumped, blown or swept in the street, sidewalk, driveway or storm drain will eventually be washed into nearby creeks, streams and lakes during a storm or by water runoff from watering your lawn.  Yard waste in local waterways can deplete the oxygen level in the water, which is harmful to aquatic life.  Chemical fertilizers used on the lawn can also wash down the storm drain.  So, by using your yard waste as a natural fertilizer, you can help reduce stormwater pollution.
 
To keep your yard waste from clogging storm drains and being washed into waterways:
 
●  Remove yard waste from streets, sidewalks and driveways.  Use your leaf blower or broom to blow or sweep grass clippings or leaves back up into the yard.
 
●  Don’t bag grass clippings and fallen leaves; use it as mulch.
 
●  If you hire a company to care for your lawn, educate them on proper lawn care.
 
Fore more information, call the Stormwater Hotline at 972.205.2180.