by Alana Bartolai, Water Quality Specialist, 
Lake County Health Department
The ground may be covered in snow, but around the corner is spring—where temperatures start getting warmer, there are longer hours of sunlight, and the landscape around us starts to turn green. It is not too early to start thinking about ways to improve your landscaping so that as our lawns turn green our lakes do not. With simple actions, we can all improve the water quality of our lakes and streams.
What is the problem?
Residential and urban areas have increased in Lake County, which means more land devoted to lawns and impervious surfaces. Typical maintenance of conventional lawns includes turfgrass, fertilizer application, and pesticides to control weeds. Runoff from these lawns will bring fertilizer and pesticides into our waters. Even if you do not live directly on a lake or other body of water, runoff from your property goes down storm drains, which are then directly connected to our rivers, lakes and wetlands.
Runoff from yards typically has excess nutrients, causing algae blooms which are commonly seen in our lakes. Algae blooms can also lead to low dissolved oxygen levels; as the algae die, the decomposition process uses up the available dissolved oxygen. Fish, macro-invertebrates, and other organisms rely on that oxygen. Pesticides on lawns that runoff into the water can also be harmful for the environment.
It is possible to have a lawn that looks good and does not harm your health or the environment. Natural lawn care restores balance to the soil system –including the microbes, organic matter, and soil structure. Healthy soil is a key step towards healthy lawns. A healthy lawn will require less watering, fertilizing, and mowing, which saves you time and money!
There are many different steps you can take to create an attractive lake-friendly lawn.
Convert to healthy natural lawn by mowing the grass 3 or 4 inches tall with a sharp lawnmower blade. Leave clippings on the lawn as a source of nitrogen for the soil and core aerate in the fall to improve roots and watering. Follow these useful tips:
- Add compost to your soil. Compost improves the soil’s ability to hold water and nutrients and helps make a healthier soil.
- Test your soil. Many soils do not need additional phosphorus.
- Shrink your lawn. How much lawn do you really need? Reduce areas of your lawn that are unused to a more natural landscape. This will help infiltration and save you time and money since you have less yard to maintain!
- Choose Plants Wisely. Different plants have specific water, nutrient, and light requirements, and pests attack poorly adapted plants.
- Build a rain garden. Keeping rainwater on your property reduces runoff and stormwater pollution. Rain gardens can help infiltrate water into the ground, and are great habitat for pollinators.
- Buy a rain barrel. Rain barrels capture rain water from your gutter that would normally runoff into storm drains, carrying nutrients and pollution. Rain barrels help minimize stormwater runoff, and provide you with a way to water your plants with saved up water.
- Water Smart. Over-watering reduces the health of your plants. Proper watering and reducing the water requirements of your lawn and landscape can save you time and money. In addition, many municipalities have watering restrictions.
- Plant Shoreline buffers: If you live directly on a lake or a channel, consider building a shoreline buffer between the lake edge and your property of native plants. This will slow down runoff into your lake and help filter out pollutants.
- Integrated Pest Management. Persistent problems with pests can be a sign of poor lawn and landscape health. Use an integrated approach to pest management, including creating healthy soil and using the right plants.