TOO FAR needs you and you and you and you to get involved. Save our water. Preserve our resources and way of life. Protect our environment for our children and future generations. You can help. Come to our meetings. Get involved. Voice your opinion. Bring a friend. Spread the word.

Q:   What can I do about water pollution?

A:   You can do a lot! Setting an example and letting people know about the dangers of pollution will encourage others to do their part in keeping rivers, lakes, preserves, beaches and oceans clean.

Here are just a few ways to help cut down on pollution:

• Recycle and dispose of your own trash properly — and pitch in by picking up trash that others have left behind.
• Start a recycling program in your area.
• Whenever possible, walk, ride a bicycle, or take public transportation instead of going somewhere in a car.
• Conserve water. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. Make sure leaky faucets get fixed. Find out if water-saving devices are in place at you home and school.
• Use less chemicals around the house and in the garden.
• Don’t flush chemicals down the toilet.

What you can do to prevent pollution:

• Keep litter, pet wastes, leaves, and debris out of street gutters and storm drains--these outlets drain directly to lake, streams, rivers, and wetlands.
• Apply lawn and garden chemicals sparingly and according to directions.
• Dispose of used oil, antifreeze, paints, and other household chemicals properly, not in storm sewers or drains. If your community does not already have a program for collecting household hazardous wastes, ask your local government to establish one.
• Clean up spilled brake fluid, oil, grease, and antifreeze. Do not hose them into the street where they can eventually reach local streams and lakes.
• Control soil erosion on your property by planting ground cover and stabilizing erosion-prone areas.
• Encourage local government officials to develop construction erosion/sediment control ordinances in your community.
• Have your septic system inspected and pumped, at a minimum, every 3-5 years so that it operates properly.
• Purchase household detergents and cleaners that are low in phosphorous to reduce the amount of nutrients discharged into our lakes, streams and coastal waters.

Any and all "dumping" into the waters or systems is considered illegal, even if they are "biodegradable" or "natural" such as grass clippings, tree trimmings, etc., even these can cause an imbalance of nutrients in our waterbodies, which could cause long term problems, such as algae blooms and fish kills.