Non-Point

Non-Point

Aug 11

The Arkansas River is such an incredible environmental asset to Tulsa County. It connects many communities as a green belt of water and natural space. Our river is beautiful and natural, and it shines in comparison to the man-made concrete channels in Oklahoma City and San Antonio. But many of us unknowingly do little things that add pollutants to the river. Some of the biggest pollutants in the river come from the storm water pipes. They include automotive fluids, litter and pesticides from our lawns. Most of us would never dump things down a storm sewer or throw directly into the river. We respect nature too much to ever purposely pollute. But we can find pollution from citizens entering the river with every rain.

One of the most common ways that we unknowingly pollute is having a car that drips. Many older cars just leak a little oil, brake or power steering fluid or anti-freeze on the pad where we park. These little drips wash down our roads and directly into the creeks or storm sewers and eventually into our beautiful river.

I also see solid waste entering the river alongside these automotive fluids. Again, most of us don’t throw trash out of our cars while we drive, but can still cause problems to the river. Small pieces of paper can blow out of the back of pickup trucks. Trash that just missed the can at Riverparks can blow in the river. Even unbagged trash can escape the garbage truck during collection or transportation to the disposal site.

Many Tulsans want a lawn free from weeds or a garden free of bugs and apply chemicals, yet fail to properly apply these chemicals. We don’t mix them according to label instructions; apply them on windy days or too near to a rainy day that can lead them to wash off the lawn directly into the storm sewers.

These non-point pollutants are difficult to stop once they enter our urban environment. It is too costly for us to put filters on every pipe or add buffers to catch these from entering the river. Our only hope is to stop pollution from happening in the first place. Please get that auto drip fixed and make sure and bag those wrappers. Please be careful when applying chemicals to our lawns. Don’t unknowingly pollute our greatest natural asset.