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WATER'S TEN MOST-WANTED
Or: How Your Cat is Trying to Kill You
Brian GongolDJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
November 3, 2016
Nebraska Section AWWA Fall ConferenceKearney, Nebraska
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If the water cycle means anything...
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Then drinking-water professionals need to speak up
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Garbage in, garbage out
Source water protection is massively importantto the quality of public drinking water
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These are ten enemies of clean source water
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We're only talking about domestic sources
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Forget agricultural runoff and pollutants
Runoff is a huge issue,but few of us talk directly
to farmers
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Forget industrial pollution
It's a convenient boogeyman,but regulators are already involved
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Don't let households off the hook
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We want the public to take ownership
Nobody washes or waxes a rented car
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Public Enemy #1: Geese
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What's the problem?
They're obnoxious, obviously
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But they also pollute directly into urban ponds
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What's the public doing wrong?
The public really doesn't understandthe impact of nutrients
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What do we want them to change?
Understand the nutrient-pollution relationship
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What do we want them to change?
Recognize nutrient-overloadedbodies of water
in their own neighborhood
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Public Enemy #2: Dogs and cats
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What's the problem?
America has a huge number of pets
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What's the problem?
Those pets relieve themselvesof an enormous volume of waste
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What's the public doing wrong?
Plenty of jerks don't clean up after their pets
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What's the public doing wrong?
Pet waste gets on your shoes...But it also washes into storm drains
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What's the public doing wrong?
Pet waste is highly concentratedand contaminates storm sewers,
streams, rivers, and creeks
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What do we want them to change?
Recognize that domestic pets like Fido and Fluffyaren't "just like" wild rabbits and deer
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What do we want them to change?
Realize that pets eat concentrated foodand create concentrated waste
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What do we want them to change?
Clean up after pets and dispose of waste properly
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Public Enemy #3: Trees
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What's the problem?
Leaves and yard wasteget into storm sewers
and create nutrient problems
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What's the public doing wrong?
People dump grass clippings in the streetand blow leaves into the storm sewers
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What do we want them to change?
Mulch yard waste back into the soil
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What do we want them to change?
Collect leaves and yard waste for composting
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Public Enemy #4: Lawn fertilizer
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What's the problem?
Runoff from over-fertilized lawnsputs nitrogen and phosphorus
into source water
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What's the public doing wrong?
Dumping too much fertilizeron residential lawns in pursuit
of golf-course perfection
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What's the public doing wrong?
Fertilizing at the wrong time
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What's the public doing wrong?
Cutting grass at the wrong height
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What's the public doing wrong?
Watering like idiots
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What do we want them to change?
Fertilize efficiently
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What do we want them to change?
Water efficiently
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What do we want them to change?
Accept that a picture-perfect lawnis not a sane goal
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Public Enemy #5: Spray-applied pesticides
Not this kind, but the household kind
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What's the problem?
Spray feeders and nozzles on garden hosescreate a huge backflow risk
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What's the public doing wrong?
Almost willfully ignoringthe risk of backflow
from our chemical-happy habits
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What do we want them to change?
Learn that backflow preventionis primarily for their own protection
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What do we want them to change?
Recognize the hazards ofputting water supplies
in close contactwith dangerous chemicals
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Public Enemy #6: Aging pipes
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What's the problem?
Old pipes passing through contaminated areas can introduce chemicals to drinking-water systems, especially
when low-pressure events create passing vacuums at joints
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What's the public doing wrong?
Blindly imagining that water infrastructureis free and lasts forever
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What do we want them to change?
Recognize that investing in water infrastructureprotects public health and has no substitute
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Public Enemy #7: Prescription drugs
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What's the problem?
Pharmaceuticals are going through peopleand finding their way into source water
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What's the public doing wrong?
Using antibiotics like morons
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What's the public doing wrong?
Flushing drugs down the (space) toilet
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What do we want them to change?
Use antibiotic soaps and cleaners sparingly and sensibly* NOTE: The FDA is making this mandatory anyway
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What do we want them to change?
Dispose of used or expired pharmaceuticalsthrough proper channels
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Public Enemy #8: Fresh paint
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What's the problem?
Users put all kinds of contaminants down the drain
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What's the public doing wrong?
People wash brushes and ragsand drain the wastestraight into the sink
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What do we want them to change?
Think before you flush (or send it down any drain)
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What do we want them to change?
Use hazardous waste cleanup daysto dispose of old paints, varnishes,
and similar materials
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What do we want them to change?
Use non-water methods of cleanup
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Public Enemy #9: Sidewalk/driveway salt
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What's the problem?
Aggressive measures to clear snow and ice from roads, sidewalks,
and driveways ultimately sends
salt into receiving streams
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What's the public doing wrong?
Salting the ground like asuper-sized
order ofFrench fries
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What do we want them to change?
Think about the use of salt, sand, and griton pavement before dumping them mindlessly
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Public Enemy #10: Cars
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What's the problem?
Oil leaks
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What's the problem?
Gasoline spillage
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What's the problem?
Household car washing
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What's the public doing wrong?
Creating non-point-source pollution withcareless oil changes
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What's the public doing wrong?
Creating non-point-source pollution withsloppy fill-ups
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What's the public doing wrong?
Creating non-point-source pollution withinefficient household car washing
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What do we want them to change?
Realize that everything that spills on the groundflows downstream
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What do we want them to change?
Use dedicated car washes
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What do we want them to change?
Dispose properly of used motor oil
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That's ten big enemies of source-water quality
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Let's figure out what you can do to help
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Tools you can use
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Advertising and PSAs
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Newspaper columns
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TV and radio interviews
Check out the effortsof Bill Stowe at
Des MoinesWater Works
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Parades
This is outreach!
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Internet presence (in three parts)
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Website(s) - You aren't limited to just one
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Summary
Safe drinking water really is everyone's business
Public buy-in is required
You're in the best position to make the case
Help people see these 10 problems (and more!)
People are motivated by a sense of ownership
Use all of the tools at your disposal
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There's a lot the public needs to know
Ask me (or someone else)if you need help!
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Any questions?
Brian Gongol • DJ Gongol & Associates
515-223-4144
[email protected]
@djgongol on Facebook or Twitter
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References
Water-cycle image is public-domain work by the EPA
https://www3.epa.gov/safewater/kids/pdfs/graphic_grades_k-3_watercycle.pdf
Aerial photo of Lincoln, Nebraska is public-domain work by the USGS
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/564d77fbe4b0112df6c4fffa
Pet quantities from the American Veterinary Medical Association
https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Statistics/Pages/Market-research-statistics-US-pet-ownership.aspx
All other photographs and illustrations are original work of Brian Gongol. Copyright and all other rights reserved.