By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – The Ecology Action Center urges McLean County residents to protect local water supplies by using proper leaf management.
Michael Brown, Executive Director of the Ecology Action Center, says leaves raked into the street can lead to various problems.
“What we want to emphasize is that a lot of people don’t realize that leaves can be problematic both in terms of blocking up our storm sewer systems and causing street flooding. Also, they are considered a pollutant, which usually comes as a surprise to most people.”
Brown said once leaves are raked into the street, they can wash down into the storm drains and become a storm water pollutant.
As a result, massive amounts of leaves in creeks and streams can result in unpleasant tastes in drinking water and foul odors.
“If people are raking up their leaves for collection by the city of public works crews that go out, we definitely want to encourage that people keep them up on the curb. People like to apparently rake them into the street (to) keep them off their lawns. That is strongly discouraged by the city of Bloomington and the town of Normal. Because that does increase the amount of leaves that are going to wash into the storm sewer system.”
More information about proper leaf management can be found at mCLEANwater.org.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
