Celebrate 25 Years of the Pollution Prevention Act!!

This year is exciting since we are celebrating 25 years of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. Pollution was such a problem that the Environmental Protection Agency created the Pollution Prevention Act to have pollution prevented or reduced at the source whenever possible. Read about P2 at EPA's website. 

Pollution Prevention reduces Financial costs (waste management and cleanup) and Environmental costs (health problems, damages). Pollution Prevention not only protects our environment, but also strengthens our community.

September 21 through 27 is Pollution Prevention week!

Here are some Pollution Prevention practices:

• Use reusable water bottles instead of throw-aways
• Turning off lights when not in use
• Repairing leaky faucets and hoses
• Using non-toxic or "green" cleaners
• Properly dispose of household hazardous waste (old electronics, paint, etc. SHOULD go to WLSSD)
• Help clean up litter - any litter on the streets or yard will eventually find its way into a nearby stream
• Sweep up yard waste - excess grass clippings are pollutants! 
• Report any illicit discharge/dumping in the City of Superior: http://www.ci.superior.wi.us/illicitdischarge

You can . . .

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A few more openings for the Tour De Water Bus Tour - It's Free

We love to educate people about how to keep our local waterways clean.  Reducing what is called non-point source pollution is very important as materials from roads and sidewalks can easily enter storm drains.  How can we slow down stormwater?
Learn about practices being down in Superior at UWS, a private business, and the City of Superior to slow down stormwater and clean stormwater.    Make your reservations for the Tour De Water Bus Tour by Aug 12.  Call 715/394-0392.  The 2.5 hour tour is free. 

Illicit Discharge

It sounds a little scary, doesn't it? Illicit discharge IS scary, making it the perfect topic to cover leading up to Halloween.  We're also working on illicit discharge sampling right now so I'm thinking about it pretty often.  Illicit discharges are discharges into the stormwater conveyance system that are not composed entirely of stormwater.  They often contain sediment, nutrients, bacteria and toxic pollutants.  In other words, illicit discharge is anything flowing through storm sewers that isn't rain.

So what makes up illicit discharges? A lot of different things can be illicit discharges. Sanitary wastewater (sewage) can end up in the storm sewer system through cross-connections: when a sanitary sewer is connected to the storm system.  Leaking oil and other fluids from vehicles parked outside can end up in storm drains.  When you wash your vehicle in the driveway, the wash water can go down the storm drain. Grease containers stored outside of restaurants can tip over and spill. Soil can be washed off of construction sites.  There is a list of potential illicit discharges on our website here.
We find illicit discharges in a few different ways.  The first is, as I mentioned previously, sampling.  We determine if there are illicit discharges in our storm sewers by sampling during dry weather.  When it's dry, nothing should be flowing through the storm sewers. We visit the stormwater outfalls (where the water leaves the sewers and enters streams, rivers, and the lake) when it's dry to see if there's anything coming out.  If there is, we take a sample and find out what's in it.  Once we know how much ammonia, potassium, fluoride, and detergent is in the sample, we can determine what kind of discharge it is.  Sometimes, it is tap water or a natural water source.  Other times, it is sanitary wastewater.  When we've figured that out, we try to figure out where it is coming from and eliminate the source.  We don't want illicit discharges because most storm drains in Superior don't lead to the wastewater treatment plant; they go out into the streams, rivers, and lakes without treatment.  We need to make sure the stormwater is as clean as possible so that we're not polluting our water bodies.
The other way that we find illicit discharges is with the help of everyone in Superior. We have an illicit discharge reporting form on our website at www.ci.superior.wi.us/idform. We also have a hotline that anyone can call at any time to let us know about potential stormwater pollution: 715-394-2761. If you see someone's car leaking, piles of pet waste concentrated in one area, litter covering a storm drain, or anything else you think could cause stormwater pollution, err on the side of caution.  Give us a call and we'll look into it! We need everyone to help us out to eliminate illicit discharge.

 For further information about illicit discharge, you can watch the webinar Wendy presented recently here.

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards

Pollution Prevention Night - Sept 17 (Tues) at the Superior Public Library

 Sept 17 Program on Pollution Prevention

Come to Pollution Prevention Speaker Night on Tuesday, September 17 starting at 6 p.m. at the Superior Public Library, 1530 Tower Ave.  Guest speakers, displays, and a short game will be part of the evening’s program on pollution prevention.  Information on proper disposal of household hazardous waste, lead and children, e-waste, environmental and human health connection, and more will be part of the evening’s program. National Pollution Prevention Week is September 15-21.   Helping keep water and air clean has benefits for wildlife and for humans.  Preventing pollution can save money and unhealthy consequences. Doing activities such as fixing leaks in your car, not putting medicines down your toilet, properly disposing of household hazardous waste, and reducing use of items containing toxic materials can help reduce pollution in the environment.  The speaker night is free and open to the public.   Come learn how you can reduce pollution in our community.

   For more information, contact city of Superior Environmental Services Division at 715/394-0392. 

Posted by Wendy