Do you live in a watershed?

Yes! We all live in a watershed. The USGS defines a watershed as an "area of land where all the water that falls in it and drains off of it goes into the same place." 
All the water in the city basically ends up in Lake Superior, but do you know where it goes before then? Do you know the name of the stream nearest you? The rain that falls here at the wastewater treatment plant drain directly to Superior Bay of Lake Superior. If you live more inland, chances are your rain water flows into a storm drain connected to a stream before reaching the lake. Here are a couple of resources to determine the stream nearest you:
Streams of Superior (city website)
Lake Superior Streams (Info on streams from Duluth-Superior area)

We are constantly promoting "only rain down the drain" because storm sewers do NOT go through a treatment process. Do you have a storm drain by your home? Think about all the stuff that snowmelt and rain water flushes from your yard into the drain:

• Road salt
• Dog poop that never got picked up
• Lawn fertilizers and other chemicals
• Grass clippings and fallen leaves
• Dirty washwater from washing your car at home

All of these will find its way to pollute our lake. The map above is a bit hard to read, but all the boxed red text shows our impaired waters due to pollution.

Keeping Lake Superior Blue Is Up To YOU!!

Plants for Indoor Air Quality!

We spend 90% of our time indoors. According to the EPA, indoor pollutants may be 2 to 5 times higher than outdoor levels. Many traditional cleaning products, paints, building materials, and office equipment such as printers and markers emit fumes that may have adverse health effects. We previously blogged about "freeing" your home of harmful toxins. Another great way to reduce toxins is by adding plants into your home.

In the late 1980s, NASA conducted a study of how houseplants could improve indoor air quality. Many newer homes are designed for energy efficiency, thus are often tightly sealed. This reduces energy loss, but also traps toxic chemicals in the air. Here is how houseplants can come to the rescue. Many houseplants come from tropical environments with thick canopies and limited light levels. Thus these plants evolved to become very efficient at capturing light and processing gases.

Here are some varieties that are best at filtering:
English ivy
Spider plant
Peace lily
Pothos                                                                
Snake plant (Mother-in-law tongue)
Philodendron
Dracaena
Ficus

These plants not only produce oxygen and water vapor, but they absorb carbon dioxide, benzene, formaldehyde, and/or trichloroethylene (chemicals commonly found in building materials and cleaning supplies).

On a side note . . . has your home ever been tested for radon? Radon is an odorles, tastelss, invisible gas produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in the soil and water. Radon moves from the ground into homes where it is then trapped.  It is the second leading cause of lung caner and the EPA recommend that all homes be tested (radon disclosure required for MN home sellers). Test kits can be found at hardware stores.

A Very Scary Substance

There’s a scary substance lurking around in the environment.  It’s in the air, water, animals, products we use every day and even in people. It builds up in fish and can ruin their health, too!  When you eat fish with a lot of it in them, you end up with it in you too. It can make people sick and affect neurological development.  What is this eerie element?  It’s mercury, a creepy chemical that’s all around.

Mercury is an element that is liquid at room temperature and evaporates easily.  It occurs naturally, but is most often released into the air through the burning of coal.  It is also used in products like thermostats, thermometers, and switches (like the ones that turn your trunk and hood lights on in your car).  Mercury-containing products are hazardous and should not be thrown in with your regular trash.  You can prevent mercury in the environment by buying products that don’t contain mercury, disposing of mercury-containing items correctly, and becoming more energy efficient.  Watch our webinar below for information on reducing the number of mercury containing items in your life and proper disposal.  You can also tune in for our “Universal Waste Rules for Mercury” webinar on November 13^th.  Mercury-containing products can be brought to the wastewater treatment plant (51 E 1^st Street) free of charge.  You’ll even receive a mercury-free thermostat.

  

"Mercury and You" webinar from October 8, 2013