A:         Gardening practices throughout a watershed can indeed affect the health of local creeks as runoff from gardens, rooftops, driveways, walkways, and patios washes into streets, gutters, and storm drain systems, and often, ultimately into creeks. This water can carry excess fertilizers and pesticides, as Master Gardener Lee Oliphant explained in December, and it can also carry other toxic materials, soil, and seeds of exotic plants.

        Gardeners, by helping control the quality and quantity of water washing from the many gardens in a watershed, can play a vital role in control of this nonpoint source of water pollution. The following suggestions may help:

• Use a flat shovel and a broom to remove soil and garden debris from walkways, driveways, patios, and gutters before rain. If washing with water is necessary, wash back into the garden, rather than into the gutter.
• Cover as much soil surface as possible with plants, mulch, or other materials suitable to help minimize erosion.
• Maintain irrigation systems to avoid leaks and gushers which can wash soil from the garden.
• Use permeable paving materials which allow water to move through them and into the soil.
• Loosen the surface of hard packed soil to increase water penetration and decrease surface runoff.
• Use plants with root systems sufficient to hold soil in place on embankments, and mulch to lessen the impact of water striking the soil surface. Irrigate in time periods of short duration to minimize runoff.
• Carefully follow directions on pesticides and fertilizers to minimize excess application.

        Additional related information may be found on the following sites created by US Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service, and UC Davis: www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/WATER/U/wcufre.ucdavis.edu/products/CUFR_182_UFfactsheet4.pdf