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How to Protect Water
How to Protect Water
Keeping our water clean
and healthy is a job that begins at home. You may be polluting rivers, oceans,
wetlands or groundwater without realising it.
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Use less
fertilisers and pesticides on lawns and gardens. These can seep into
groundwater or get washed into your local waterways. Nutrients from fertilisers
are a major cause of blue-green algae, while high levels of pesticides in our
waterways can result in the death of fish and other marine life.
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Protect the
banks of streams and rivers and the vegetation growing on them. Don’t allow
vehicles or animals to disturb and degrade them. Always leave a buffer of
vegetation to act as filter for soil, nutrients and other pollutants.
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Use house cleaning
products which are low in phosphorus. High phosphorus levels in streams
are another major cause of blue-green algal blooms.
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Your toilet
is not a garbage bin. Do not dispose of tissues, cotton buds, tampons, sanitary
napkins, or other undesirable objects in the toilet.
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Place used
cooking oils in a jar or carton and put it in the garbage bin. Household
cooking oils poured into the sink can clog pipes, and can pollute our waterways.
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Take used
motor oil to a service station that advertises collection for recycling. Your
local council can tell you where motor oil can be disposed of. A single litre
of motor oil down the drain can pollute 9500 litres of water.
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Wash your
car on the lawn. This stops the detergent from flowing into the stormwater
system, and also waters the lawn.
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Never pour
leftover paints or solvents down the sink or drain. Place used solvents in a
tin or jar and stuff with newspaper before resealing. Ask your local council
about arrangement for collection of all hazardous waste.
Being waterwise is all
about protecting and conserving our water and getting involved in community
decision making about our water resources.
For more information on
how to protect water the following brochure is available
in Adobe PDF format.
If you do not have the Acrobat Reader please click on the button below to obtain
your free copy.
Stop and
Think Before you Flush or Pour
For more great ways to save
water visit savewater.com.au
or awa.asn.au.
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