Rainwater Resolutions for Rover

It’s hard to believe that we’re already celebrating a new year and a new decade! It seems like just yesterday we were all ushering in a new millennium and hoping Y2K wouldn’t impact us too much.

With the start of 2010, we’re all making resolutions, so how about keeping your dog in mind when making a few new pledges that will pawsitively impact the health of our communities and the environment? Here are a few simple rainwater resolutions for Rover as we enter 2010:

Always Pick Up After Your Dog – Make a pledge to always pick up after your dog. As you may know, unattended dog waste is a major pollutant in our neighborhoods and can be flushed into our storm drain system when it rains. The toxic mix of bacteria from dog waste and water then flows untreated into our rivers, creeks, lakes and ocean. The City of LA’s Stormwater Public Education Program even makes it easy to keep this pledge. E-mail us at lastormwater@lacity.org or call (800) 974-9794 and request your free Bags on Board leash-sized canister of dog waste bags. All we need is your mailing address!

Make Every Day a Clean Up Day – We walk our dogs every day. What a perfect opportunity to clean up our neighborhoods! Make the pledge to pick up just one piece of litter as you’re walking your dog. My dog, Dodger and I do mini-neighborhood clean-ups when we go for our daily walks– picking up just a few pieces of litter every time we’re out. It’s my way to simultaneously improve the aesthetics of my neighborhood and keep litter out of our waterways.

Stay Connected – Resolve to stay connected! Sign-up to receive our quarterly e-Newsletter and pet-related e-Updates by visiting the new LA Stormwater pet website You can also join us on the LA Stormwater Facebook fan page to learn more about what the City is doing to keep our waterways clean.

Here at the City’s Stormwater Public Education Program, we’re working hard to get the message out about the importance of keeping our rivers, creeks, lakes and beaches clean. Join us in making a few simple canine commitments that will result in cleaner communities and a cleaner coast!

*Photo of Dodger, one of the Stormwater Program's favorite dogs!