Healthy Waters and Clean Lawn Initiative
Urban nonpoint sources account for approximately one-fourth of the phosphorus and one-eighth of the nitrogen reaching the Bay. And with greater development of urban areas, these loads are increasing, due, in part, to the homeowner’s quest for lush, green lawns. Often, as these homeowners treat their lawns, they mistakenly leave fertilizer on driveways, sidewalks, and curbs – ultimately allowing the product to be washed into storm drains.
Nationally, about 75% of lawn fertilizer application is Do-It-Yourself (DIY). As such, the Mid-Atlantic Water Program partnered with the Middle Potomac Tributary Team to facilitate a discussion amongst researchers, policy-makers, the fertilizer industry, and environmental organizations about nutrient losses from unintentional over-fertilization and improper fertilization. The “From Our Backyards to the Bay” forum, held in the fall of 2005, initiated a regional pilot effort with Scotts Miracle-Gro Company.
By 2006, with guidance from the Mid-Atlantic Water Program and the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program, the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company reduced the amount of phosphorus in their DIY lawn fertilizer products by 50%. While the group originally intended to develop a trial formula for testing only in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the result was a national commitment of phosphorus reduction in DIY lawn care products. Several other fertilizer companies soon followed. For the Chesapeake, this reduction will keep at least 165,000 pounds of phosphorus from reaching the bay each year.