3 Easy Ways to Protect Your Drinking Water Sources
As a parent, you have a lot on your plate beyond thinking about things like clean drinking water sources, but it is an environmental issue that impacts everyone. Simply going about your daily tasks—using cleaning products, walking the dog—could be contributing to the degradation of our already-polluted waters without even realizing it. Fortunately, you can do a few simple things to lessen your influence. Here are some easy ways you can protect your drinking water sources!
Simple Steps to Protect Drinking Water Sources
News stories about the current state of our environment can be overwhelming to read as a parent. Improving the climate and saving natural resources sounds like a daunting task, but even small steps can make a big difference. Eco-friendly changes as minimal as changing your watering schedule or switching to organic pesticides can have a significant impact on your local community. Check out these simple ways you can help.
Think Twice About Lawn and Garden Chemicals
You should use pesticides and fertilizers sparingly and always follow label requirements to the letter. The EPA evaluates pesticides to guarantee that they do not affect people, non-target species, or the environment when used according to label guidelines. Many fertilizers and pesticides include toxic chemicals that can contaminate groundwater or run off into rivers, streams, and lakes when used on the land.
Maintain Your Septic System
Poorly treated or untreated residential wastewater can contaminate groundwater, posing a threat to both drinking water and the environment. Septic systems that aren’t working correctly emit germs, viruses, and toxins into nearby aquifers and waterways, giving way to many waterborne viruses commonly found in tap water. A septic service specialist should inspect the average household septic system at least once every three years. Septic tanks in homes are usually pumped every three to five years. Test electrical float switches, pumps, and mechanical components in alternative systems more frequently, at least once a year.
Dispose of Medications Properly
Prescription and over-the-counter medicines flushed down the toilet into septic tanks can leach into the earth and seep into groundwater. Medications poured down the sink or flushed down the toilet in cities and municipalities with wastewater treatment plants can slip past the treatment system and end up in rivers and lakes. These water sources could eventually flow into community drinking water. The ability to filter out drugs is typically not a function of water treatment plants.
Remember that by taking actions to reduce the pollution of groundwater, you will reduce your family’s chances of being exposed to harmful chemicals and minerals in the water supply. Protecting your drinking water sources makes your drinking water safer and more usable.
For more tips on how you can make an impact in your community, join our Local Anchor Facebook group.
