Pollution Facts

Don't pour oil, grease, pesticides, or other pollutants down storm drains or into the ditches and streams. Our streams and wetlands help moderate flooding and are habitats for fish, frogs, and other species that provide us with recreation or food. Fish and other aquatic life struggle to survive with low oxygen levels. Protect them and their homes. Plastic bags, bottles, cigarette butts, and other debris can cause choking hazards for birds, fish, turtles, and other wildlife. Polluted stormwater can affect drinking water sources, causing human health issues and can increase the cost of processing potable water. 

Lawn Care Tips

Don’t overwater your lawn. Consider using a soaker hose instead of a sprinkler and add a moisture detector to your automatic sprinkler system so it doesn’t spray when it is raining.

Excess fertilizer and pesticides wash off your lawn and pollute streams. Overfertilization causes excess nutrients to be washed down our storm drains and enter the nearby water bodies. Just like your plants on your lawn use fertilizers to grow, so does algae and other phytoplankton. This can lead to harmful algal blooms (HABs) like red tide and eutrophication. The City of Venice has adopted Sarasota County's fertilizer ordinance to help prevent eutrophication and harmful algal blooms. Visit Sarasota County's Fertilizer Management webpage.