August is National Water Quality Month!

Did you know that August is National Water Quality Month? If you are reading this, you’re probably one of the lucky ones who has quick and easy access to clean fresh water whenever you need it.It is important that we all do our part to help keep it this way so that we can continue to enjoy the benefits of fresh water for tasks such as showering, washing clothes, doing dishes, watering plants, and other daily activities. Some things that can be done to ensure our water stays in good quality include:

-Avoiding using fertilizers and pesticides for on your lawn or plants. They will eventually seep into the ground and affect water quality.

-Limiting the use of antibacterial soap or cleaning products. Such products have been found to harm aquatic life, while regular soap kills germs just as effectively as the antibacterial stuff!

-Keep an eye out and pick up trash or any litter near sewers and waterways to limit the amount of contamination in our lakes, rivers, ponds, and other freshwater sources.

-Try to choose the non-toxic option when it comes to household products. There are alternatives that use natural ingredients that can also be effective.

Making an effort to do these things will allow us to have access to decades of freshwater far into the future.

Sources:

http://www.cleanwateraction.org/files/publications/ca/10_Ways_to_Protect_Our_Water.pdf_ga=2.248032967.114172378.1501597255-1150598189.1500392033

https://www.homeserveusa.com/news/details/august-national-water-quality

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html