Seasonal actions for water and soil health:
- Monitor rainbarrels and use the water as spring rains set in.
- Keep grass clippings off of paves surfaces. If mowing around a ditch, spray clippings away from the ditch.
- Never dump leaves or grass clippings into ditches or wetlands - plan for responsible disposal through a yardwaste curbside service or a county compost site. Consider asking a neighbor for help and seeing it as an opportunity to build community and get to know neighbors.
- Trim groundcovers, grasses, or other vegetation overhanging curbs and sidewalks.
Looking ahead:
- Watch what's happening during big rains in the early summer: Wash-outs, debris pile-ups, etc. Street sweepers likely won't be running in the summer months, so your help to keep stormdrains clean is a direct way to protect water quality and maintain functional drainage systems.
- Watch for signs of illicit discharge (illegal dumping): Odd colors or odors in drainage water, construction sites with no buffer to keep sediment on-site, foams or surface scum where it doesn't make sense. These things should be reported to you City, Township, or public works department for inspection and possible clean-up.
- Pay attention to watering needs more than relying on assigned odd/even watering days. Your assigned day for watering doesn't automatically mean watering is necessary on that day. Turfgrass typically requires only 1"/week to survive. Summer dormancy is a normal part of grass' life cycle just as it goes dormant in the winter.
- Check-in on irrigation systems. Be sure they're set to water 1"/week so that grass stays alive but reduces excessive watering. Accommodate for rainfall into the weekly count, and avoid irrigating when it's raining.
- Fix errant sprinkler heads so that they're not spraying onto pavement.