Why You Should Pick Up After Your Pet

Pet waste is more than smelly and unsightly, it is a health risk to pets, people and water bodies. The sources of drinking water include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

Pet waste left on the street, sidewalk or on lawns does not go away or fertilize the ground. Instead, it is flushed into the nearest water way when it rains. When pet waste is not properly disposed of, it can wash into nearby streams or be carried by runoff into storm drains. These storm drains do not connect to treatment facilities and drain directly into our streams and ponds.

A single gram of pet waste contains an average of 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, some of which can cause disease in humans.