POINTLESS POLLUTION CAN BE ELIMINATED

(reprinted from Me. DEP, Lewiston Sun-Journal, October 14, 1999)

"What in the world does non-point source pollution mean? Non-point sounds as thought there were nothing there. If there is no point, what is the point of being concerned?" This was a question raised recently by David Deen, Ct. River steward, at a regional meeting of citizens and government officials concerned about water quality.

Actually, nonpoint source pollution comes from diffuse sources, like soil erosion, instead of one place, like a factory discharge pipe. But is that really true? In a way, even nonpoint source pollution originates with one source---you and me.

Other descriptive words might include dog doodoo runoff, the out-of-sight-out-of-mind pollution and human activity contamination. At DEP, we prefer "polluted stormwater runoff" which describes how the pollution gets to our waters.

So what? Who cares about NPS or polluted stormwater? Not many folks. In recent surveys by Market Decisions, most Mainers could not name one thing that is polluting our waters. "Pollution has a staggering quality about it, …it reaches into the future and reduces the value of our future. There are few other things humans have ever produced that have as long a reach beyond our brief time on the planet. I would hope that certain works of literature reach as far in the future as our trash, but I doubt it", says Deen.

So what can we do to protect our waters from pollution? One thing we can do is to leave trees and shrubs along our shorelines and along any waterway, including ditches and swales. And we can plant trees and shrubs where they have been cleared.

These natural areas serve as sponges to absorb nutrient-rich runoff from our lawns, horse pastures, dirt roads, forestry cutting operations and malls. They work by: slowing down the flow of stormwater, giving it time to soak into the ground; filtering out soil particles before they can add to the silt and discoloration; using the nutrients for plant growth on land instead of fueling algal blooms in our waters; and removing pathogens that threaten health.

By leaving trees and shrubs along our waterways and planting new ones, we can take an effective, cost efficient step in preserving our water for the present and the future. Clean water start with us!

(for more information from the Maine DEP, you can link up from here.)