Who Are the Stream Stewards? The City of Falls Church Stream Stewards are a group of volunteer citizen advocates helping to educate other citizens improve water quality in our streams. The goal of the group is to make our urban streams fishable and swimmable, as they were less than 100 years ago. Read on to learn how you can help make a difference, just by adopting small practices in and around your own home or business/organization.
Why Are Clean Streams Important? By making an effort to keep the raindrops where they fall on your property -- and by making sure the raindrops don't get contaminated on their way to your local streams -- you can help keep the streams clean and reduce the need for ever-stronger chemical treatment of water before it is reintroduced into our water systems for drinking. Slowing the flow of stormwater to the streams -- or keeping the raindrops where they fall -- is also critical to keeping streams clean and can help to effectively manage excess stormwater that can cause flooding.
Making a Difference In Your Home Water used in City of Falls Church homes is ultimately drained to two urban streams -- Four Mile Run or Tripps Run. Although treated by chemicals, many pollutants overwhelm the process. Treatment plants themselves release an abnormal amount of water into streams. You can help by:
- Reducing your use of toxic cleaners and other products in and around your home. - Finding and fixing water leaks - Installing water-saving devices - Reducing water use
Making a Difference in Your Yard Thousands of gallons of water needlessly runs off your yard and ultimately into streams, carrying sediment and chemicals into streams during a storm. You can reduce drainage without endangering your home by:
- Creating natural landscaping - Reducing paved surfaces - Reducing use of weed-killers, pesticides, and fertilizers - Leaving your grass clippings on your lawn - Composting yard and kitchen waste - Cleaning up after your pets
Making a Difference in Rooftop Drainage In the City of Falls Church, over 10 percent of the land is covered with asphalt shingled rooftops. Millions of gallons of particle-laden water unnecessarily drain instantly to swollen local streams during storms. Save our streams by:
- Installing rain barrels and/or cisterns - Installing rain gardens or swale gardens - Installing a metal roof (no asphalt particles) or a "green" roof (plantings right on the roof absorb rainwater)
Want to Know More? For More Information about how you can use these practices at your home, to arrange for a presentation, workshop, tour, or work party, or to find out how you can become a City of Falls Church Stream Steward, contact Dave Eckert (703.532.0884).
