Easy Ways to Prevent
Watershed Pollution

  • Find some alternative ways to control pests inside and outside your home, and enrich your soil without toxic chemical pesticides. If you do use pesticides, use them sparingly and according to the directions specified on packaging. Do not use if rain is forecast within 24 hours. Take unwanted pesticides to a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event or call to schedule a drop-off appointment at 408-299-7300.
  • Clean up trash outside your home. Pick up leaves and yard clippings and recycle as green waste. If you see litter, pick it up and put it in a trash can.
     
  • If you change your own oil, recycle the waste oil at the curb or take it to a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event. Regularly maintain your car to avoid leaks of auto fluids. Never pour oil or other automobile fluids into a storm drain or onto the ground.  For more information about caring for your vehicle and the environment, click HERE.

By protecting the watershed, creeks and the Bay, you are protecting the environment for your children and future generations.

  • Wash your car on an unpaved area or better yet, take it to a commercial car wash.
     
  • Pick up your pet droppings and dispose of them in the trash or in your toilet.
     
  • Use kitty litter or other absorbent materials  (not your hose) to clean up spills and leaks on paved surfaces. Remember to clean up and properly dispose of the used absorbent.
     
  • Rinse latex paint brushes, pans and rollers in the sink. Filter and reuse oil-based paint thinner or brush cleaners. Take leftover latex and oil-based paints and solvents to a hazardous waste collection event. Never pour paint or solvents into a storm drain, sink or onto the ground.
     
  • Control erosion around your property to prevent dirt and debris being carried into the storm drain.
     
  • Divert rainspouts and garden hoses away from paved surfaces to prevent water from carrying pollutants directly into storm drains.  Provide landscaping next to sidewalks and driveways to collect runoff from paved surfaces.

Pollution prevention keeps your local creeks and wetlands healthy for birds, fish and wildlife.

WATERSHED WATCH HOTLINE:  (866) WATERSHED
 
SCVURPPP is an association of the thirteen cities and towns (Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale) in the Santa Clara Valley, together with Santa Clara County and the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Program participants share a common permit to discharge stormwater to South San Francisco Bay.

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