Posted on March 20, 2001 at 12:17 p.m.

STORY:

Storm water runoff from homes and golf courses can cause just as much damage to rivers and streams as toxic waste from industry and untreated sewage discharge from treatment plants, according to University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) biology professors Ken Marion, Ph.D., and Robert Angus, Ph.D. Most homes and golf courses use fertilizers to make lawns grow. Nutrients in these products, while often not considered pollutants, are swept from yards into storm drains and carried into waterways. These chemicals can poison fish, insects and plants, and cause large amounts of algae growth that robs water of oxygen, both of which can wipe out entire ecosystems.

WHO:

Ken Marion, Ph.D., is department chair and professor of biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He has a Ph.D. in biology and has published in the Journal of Freshwater Ecology and the Bulletin of Marine Science. Robert Angus, Ph.D., is a professor of biology at the UAB School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and has published in the Journal of Freshwater Ecology and the North American Journal of Fisheries Management. Both Marion and Angus have performed bioassessment studies on Alabama rivers funded by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

WHAT:

"Most homeowners and golf course operators want pretty green grass, but the fertilizers people are using are entering our rivers and streams and the nutrients can damage fish, the insects fish eat and plant life,” Marion said.

• If you must fertilize, then don’t over fertilize. “People tend to put too much fertilizer on their lawns and fertilize too often. If you overfertilize, you increase the potential for runoff,” Marion said.
  
  
• Avoid fertilizing before heavy rains. “If you fertilize before it rains heavily, the fertilizer does not have time to work. It ends up washing into the storm drain, with no benefits to your grass or the environment,” Angus said.
  
  
• Consider more environmentally friendly ways to landscape a yard. “Lawns are not natural,” Marion said. “Use more natural areas, incorporating existing vegetation and trees into the landscape.” Angus added: “There is much less hassle in a yard with less grass, and much less to fertilize. Plantings can be done in natural areas and these can add beauty to a landscape without harming the environment.”