RiverLink survey offers groundwater pollution checklist

RiverLink wants you to take its survey:

Home and Lawn Care Checklist 

The following checklist was developed by the University of Wisconsin-Extension & US Environmental Protection Agency and modified by RiverLink for local use in Western North Carolina. 

When rain falls or snow melts, the seemingly small amounts of chemicals and other pollutants in your driveway, on your lawn and on your street are washed into storm drains. In many older cities, the stormwater runoff is not treated and runoff flows directly into rivers, streams, bays and lakes. Pollutants in this runoff can poison fish and other aquatic animals and make water unsafe for drinking and swimming. 

What can you do to help protect surface and groundwaters from polluted runoff? Start at home. Take a close look at practices around your house that might contribute to polluted runoff. The following is a checklist to help you and your family become part of the solution, instead of part of the problem.