Environmentalists Want People to Practice Greener Lawn Care

Waterway advocates such as members of the Long Island Sound Study and the Peconic Baykeeper say that Long Island's waters are in trouble, due in part to toxic chemicals and waste flowing into the water from stormwater runoff — and the overuse of chemical fertilizers used in commercial and residential landscaping.

Kevin McAllister, whose non-profit organization Peconic Baykeeper is responsible for the monitoring, advocacy, and conservation of Peconic Bay and South Shore estuaries, said in an interview on Wednesday that one of the biggest contributors to local water pollution is nutrient overloading from over-fertilizing in landscaping.

"If people do not change the way they live on land, and how our habits affect our water systems, our very livelihoods as a coastal community are at risk," he said.

McAllister said that the commercial chemical fertilizers that are applied to lawns run into our waterways and create bursts of nitrogen, and a myriad of different types of algae bloom that explodes in growth and then decay, creating the damaging red tides and brown tides that soak up the oxygen and kill our fish and shellfish.

 A recent Long Island Sound study suggests that people use commercial fertilizers sparingly, if at all, and not to fertilize before a rainstorm because excess fertilizer not absorbed by plants runs into water bodies.

Using mulch and compost instead of commercial fertilizers are just a few recommended ways homeowners can reduce pollution. And some landscaping and gardening companies are beginning to help their clients choose plants and lawn maintenance practices that do not contribute to toxic run off.

Suzzanne Ruggles, owner of local gardening company Barefoot Gardener, said that fertilizers that contain nitrogen are lethal.

"Nitrogen is killing aquatic life; in fact, there are black zones in our bays and oceans where nothing is alive because of fertilizer leaching and runoff," she said.

Ruggles believes that people have misconceptions on what horticulture should be based on what their neighbors are doing, and that they pollute the environment with damaging gardening chemicals to create an image. Ruggles is currently working on a big project with a housing developer in Southampton to build a native plant and wildlife meadow. She said she'd like to change the view that lawns must be keep the way they are currently

"My company is working to restore the eco-system instead of perpetuating the eco system," she said.

Dysfunctional septic systems, pesticides, fertilizers, and other waste products collected and dumped into the water during storms causes pollution that is major reason for pathogens in undercooked shellfish in the estuaries, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Water pollution is a also major concern for Suffolk County Department of Ecology, and they routinely check levels of contaminates and make assessments on beach closings, particularly after a heavy rainfall. Iron Pier Beach in Riverhead was closed in August due to unsafe levels of bacteria in the water.