Submitted by LOTT Clean Water Alliance
The LOTT Clean Water Alliance and its WET Science Center are teaming up with hundreds of organizations across Puget Sound to challenge residents to commit to at least one Sound-healthy action during May’s Puget Sound Starts Here Month.
“Puget Sound Starts Here Month is about raising awareness around the fact that Puget Sound is in trouble. All of us can make a difference through simple actions and local opportunities to get involved,” says Amber Smith, Education Manager at LOTT’s WET Science Center. “Our actions today determine the future of our health, economy, culture, our quality of life, and the legacy we leave the next generation,” says Smith.
Some simple Sound-healthy actions you can take:
- Volunteer to help with local habitat restoration projects.
- Pick up pet waste and place it in the trash.
- Maintain your septic system or side sewer.
- Landscape your yard with native plants and trees that soak up rain and slow the flow of runoff.
- Use natural yard products like compost and mulch. If you use chemical pesticides and fertilizers, follow the directions and use them sparingly.
- Take your car to a commercial car wash instead of washing it in your driveway.
- Store and dispose of household chemicals according to the instructions on the label.
- Fix auto leaks right away and take any used fluids to a recycling center.
- Never dump anything – liquid or solid – into a storm drain or drainage ditch.
- Boaters can protect valuable marine habitat by using pump-out stations for sewage, being cautious in sensitive eelgrass habitat, and careful when fueling and cleaning their vessels.
Get involved locally and connect with programs like:
- Thurston County Stream Team – streamteam.info
- Native Plant Salvage Project – nativeplantsalvage.org
- Thurston Conservation District – thurstoncd.com
- South Sound Estuary Association – sseacenter.org
- LOTT’s WET Science Center – wetsciencecenter.org
- Look for opportunities on the Puget Sound Starts Here events calendar here.
Puget Sound matters
Puget Sound features 2,500 miles of shoreline. It is home to countless species, including orcas, sea lions, salmon and shellfish, as well as 4.5 million people who live, work, and play across the 12 counties of Puget Sound. Puget Sound is the second-largest estuary in the nation, stretching from mountain snowcaps to Puget Sound’s whitecaps. Puget Sound includes farmland and cities, woodlands and industry, and all the places we love in between. Puget Sound creates economic opportunities for the area, including tourism, shipping, seafood, and the region’s exceptional quality of life is a key reason many local companies stay and expand here.
The pressures that Puget Sound faces
Every year, millions of pounds of toxic pollutants enter Puget Sound. Much of that pollution comes from runoff. When it rains, the water flows over hard surfaces like houses, parking lots, driveways and streets, picking up pollution along the way. This polluted runoff flows through ditches or storm drains and into local waterways. Most runoff is not treated.
We’re working to undo more than 100 years of pollution and environmental degradation, all while balancing the needs of a diverse ecosystem as well as the needs of humans.
About Puget Sound Starts Here
Puget Sound Starts Here is supported by a consortium of more than 750 organizations across Puget Sound’s 12 counties, including state agencies, local governments, tribes, and non-governmental organizations working to clean up and protect Puget Sound and our region’s local waterways.
The goal of Puget Sound Starts Here Month is to raise awareness that Puget Sound is in trouble due to a variety of pollution sources, and empower residents to make a difference through simple actions and local volunteer opportunities. Learn more about the bounty of Puget Sound and how you can help protect it at www.PugetSoundStartsHere.org.
