ISSUE
Most Americans love a lush landscape and a thick, green lawn. It looks attractive and the grass feels good to walk and play on. That is why we spend billions of dollars annually to maintain our yards. Unfortunately, that yard maintenance is contributing to a degraded Sound. Everything that is applied to your yard eventually finds its way to the Sound through runoff. This runoff carries excess nutrients and toxic chemicals that can do serous damage to both water quality and marine life.

How does yard care, through fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, affect Long Island Sound?

PROBLEM
Much of the chemicals used in yard care are washed away by the next rain. The water then carries those chemicals both over and through the ground in the form of runoff and groundwater to gutters and storm drains, lakes and reservoirs, streams and rivers, harbors and bays, and to Long Island Sound. Obviously, this is not the intent of the gardener, but these actions negatively affect water quality and harm or kill both terrestrial and aquatic creatures.

In general, common yard-care practices pose two threats to Long Island Sound:

1) loss of life-sustaining oxygen, and
2) harm and poisoning of marine organisms and their habitat

Fertilizers
Nitrogen, in the forms of nitrate, nitrite, or ammonium, is a nutrient that is required for plant growth. Although nitrogen is naturally abundant in the environment, it is also introduced via those fertilizers applied to yards and gardens to supplement the soil’s supply and stimulate plant growth. The typical commercial fertilizer is made of petroleum and is very water-soluble (it dissolves quickly when wet). However, the soil cannot absorb it quickly and plants cannot use it quickly, so much of it washes away.

While stimulating plant growth may sound like a good thing, the truth is that excess nitrogen in the environment causes two major problems:

1) Excess nitrogen causes excess growth of algae.

a. When algae decomposes, oxygen in the water is used. When excess algae are present (an algal bloom), oxygen can be depleted from the water. Without oxygen, aquatic animals cannot breathe. Then, aquatic animals either emigrate or die, leading to a decrease in animal abundance and diversity and limiting our use of the water for fishing, swimming, and boating.

b. Excess algae also block light from penetrating into to the water. This reduces the growth of plants, such as eelgrass, that provide vital underwater food and shelter. In turn, the animals that depend on those plants either emigrate or die. Additionally, less light results in poor visibility, making it difficult for animals to find prey and avoid predators.

2) Too much nitrate in drinking water can be harmful to young infants or young livestock.

Pesticides
A pesticide is an agent used to destroy pests. Pest control agents can be placed in three categories 1) insecticide (used to kill insects), herbicides (used to kill weeds), and fungicides (used to kill mold and fungus). Pesticides reach humans by being absorbed through the skin, swallowed or inhaled. Pesticides reach water bodies by being transported by air during application or by runoff. Did you know that:

– Only 5% of pesticides reach their target
– Drift from landscaping ranges from 12 feet to 14.5 miles
– More serious effects appear to be produced by direct inhalation of pesticide sprays than by absorption or ingestion of toxins

Most chemicals that are used to prevent “pests” end up in Long Island Sound where their presence can be harmful to marine organisms through poisoning both their bodies and their habitat. The role of pesticides in the recent lobster die-off has been debated and researchers under Sea Grant have been looking into link between the lobster crisis and the extensive spraying in coastal communities to control the mosquito-borne West Nile virus.

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