How Homeowners Can Help

Congratulations! You have decided to do your part for cleaner local streams and rivers…and therefore the Chesapeake Bay!

West Virginia homeowners are urged to do their part in helping to restore the Chesapeake Bay and West Virginia's streams. Excess nutrients, including those contained in common fertilizer, are a leading cause of water quality problems in the Chesapeake Bay, according to scientists. By making small changes around your home, you can make a big impact on water quality. See the documents posted below for several steps you can take to restore the Bay and local streams.

Specifically regarding excess rain and snow runoff (stormwater): If you live in a town or city in the Potomac Basin of West Virginia, your home and yard, and the buildings and yards around you, can cause a lot of runoff to nearby streams and rivers.

As more land is developed, this runoff is creating more problems for our drinking water and other water resources. It transports fertilizers from our lawns, oil and chemicals from our driveways, and bacteria from our pets' waste and malfunctioning septic systems. The sheer volume of the runoff is a problem, too, because it has such erosive force bearing down on our soils and streambanks. This results in silty, polluted streams, groundwater and wells.

Click HERE to find out what watershed you live in with Region 9's "What's My Watershed" tool!

Continue scrolling to find out more information on practices that you can install and resources that you can share with others.

• Changing where your downspouts drain can make an impact

• Setting up a rain garden:

• Tree Planting

• Environmentally friendly lawn care
"The increase of residents in WV's eastern panhandle has increased the area of lawns and gardens, ultimately increasing the amount of chemicals being applied to our soils. These chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) run off into the Potomac River, the Cacapon River, Opequon Creek, Back Creek, and many other local waterways, polluting the water and harming the aquatic life. Nutrient pollution (from phosphorous and nitrogen fertilizer) is degrading our local water quality."


• This Brochure is filled with good local information



• How my group can help with trash cleanups, water monitoring, storm drain labeling or other activities
• See the "events" section of our homepage (PLACEHOLDER FOR LINK)


• Contact a local watershed organization; see a map and list:
  http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/Programs/nonptsource/Documents/WVWatershedAssoc.pdf


• For Trash Cleanups, see West Virginia's "Make It Shine" Program:
  http://www.dep.wv.gov/dlr/reap/wvmis/Pages/default.aspx


• For water monitoring, see West Virginia's "Save Our Streams" Program:
  http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/getinvolved/sos/Pages/default.aspx


• For helping with storm drain labeling and other activities, contact your local WVCA Conservation Specialist or WVDEP Basin Coordinator



• Properly Maintain your Septic System

If septic systems aren’t properly maintained, they won’t process waste as they are intended to. This can result in a nasty mess in your home and yard in addition to bacteria and nutrients being discharged into the environment, rather than being properly treated in your septic system and drain field. Here are a few tips on proper septic care!

• Homeowner's Guide to Septic Systems
• The Do's and Don'ts of Your Septic System
• New Homebuyer's Guide to Septic Systems
• Quick Steps to Keep Your Septic System Healthy
• Top 10 Ways to Be a Good Septic Owner




Additional Septic Resources:

• 50% Cost-Share on Septic Pumping in Jefferson County, WV


• Septic Repair Cost Share Assistance Program for Elks Run Watershed
          Contact: Danielle Watson, WVCA Conservation Specialist at 304-263-4376 ext. 3 or dwatson@wvca.us


• Septic Pumping and Repair Cost-Share Program for Sleepy Creek Watershed


• Septic Pumping and Repair Cost-Share Programs for Mill Creek and Tuscarora Creek Watersheds in Berkeley County
          Contact: Kristen Mielcarek, Canaan Valley Institute at 304-940-3443 or kristin.mielcarek@canaanvi.org


• On-site Systems Loan Program (a low interest loan to address sewage disposal problems)


• A lot of ideas all in one package
• Homeowner Guide for a More Bay-Friendly Property and other resources from Chesapeake Stormwater Network:
  http://chesapeakestormwater.net/be-bay-friendly/

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I have already done one or more of the things listed above

• Tell us about it
• What’s Your Best Management Practice [BMP]

• Help others get to this point (become involved in a local watershed group)
• http://www.region9wv.com/ChesapeakeBayUpdates.aspx Scroll down to “What’s my watershed ?”

What is a watershed group? WV Dept. of Environmental Protection’s web-page on this subject has many resources: http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/getinvolved/WSA_Support/Pages/WGs.aspx