Fort Worth Public Service Message: Pet Waste and Our Water Supply
Disclaimer/notice: This blog post is done as a public service to all citizens in Tarrant County (Fort Worth, Ar
lington, Keller, HEB, Saginaw, etc.) and is paraphrased from an insert in my monthly water bill from the City of Fort Worth.
Don't allow pet waste to become a water pollutant.
There are an estimated 60 million dogs in the United States, and those pooches drop 16.4 billion pounds of poop per year!
When it rains, the potential exists for thousands of pounds of waste to wash down the storm drains into our streams, rivers and lakes - untreated. That means harmful bacteria associated with all this dog waste is going into our water. When pet waste is washed into lakes and streams, the waste decays, using up oxygen and sometimes releasing ammonia. Low oxygen levels and ammonia combined with warm temperatures can kill fish and other aquatic life.
What can you do?
Pick up pet waste from your yard. It is not fertilizer.- Carry disposable bags when you walk you dog to pick up and dispose of waste in the trash.
- Flush your pet's waste down the toilet to be treated.
- Bury pet waste in the yard, at least 6 inches deep and cover with soil. It will decompose slowly. Bury the waste in several different locations in the yard and keep it away from vegetable gardens.
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