As a homeowner, you can take important steps to reduce the amount of nutrients that are entering and harming Lake County’s beautiful waterways. Please consider taking the following steps.

Outdoors Nutrient Reduction

• Limit fertilizer use. This step is critical to reducing nutrient runoff. In Illinois, lawn fertilizers containing phosphorous are banned. If you hire a lawn-care company, make sure they are complying with state law and are using no-phosphorous lawn fertilizer.
• Keep leaves, grass clippings, and other organic material off the streets. Avoid blowing leaves for clippings into areas where they can wash into storm sewers. Consider using a lawn mower that turns clippings into mulch, which helps to fertilizer lawns.
• Use native plants. These plants are the most effective method of reducing the need for fertilizers. Native plants are adapted to Illinois’s climate and soil conditions and do not require fertilizers once they are established.
• Arrange native plants into rain gardens, which help to reduce nutrient runoff. A rain garden consists of a depressed area of native plants that absorb water and allow it to soak into the ground, preventing runoff. Read more here!
• Disconnect your downspouts and install rain barrels to catch water collected from the roof. Doing this will reduce nutrient runoff. You can then use this water for plants and gardens.
• Pick up pet waste from yards, parks, and shorelines. Pet waste contains phosphorous.
• Inside your home, make sure that your dish soap, laundry detergent, and dishwater detergents are all free of phosphates.
• Reduce your indoor water usage, which reduces the strain on wastewater treatment plants. The following steps will also save you money:
  • Purchase low-flow shower heads.
  • Use shower timers.
  • Turn off faucets when brushing teeth.
  • Check indoor pipes for leaks.
  • Install a water meter if you do not already have one.