Special contribution by Doug Llewellyn

This is the second in a series of informative articles by the CLWA Outreach and Education Committee, designed to offer practical approaches to Lake-Friendly Living.

As watershed residents, we all share the responsibility of protecting the health of Canandaigua Lake for generations to come. One important step is understanding the difference between sanitary and storm sewers. When leaves, lawn clippings, and road litter wash into storm drains, they can degrade water quality. By knowing how these systems work, we can make informed decisions about what shouldn’t enter our sewers, creating a less harmful harmful impact on our watershed.

A sanitary sewer has a full cover (often termed a “man-hole cover”) secured flat to its circular rim at the surface of the road. The purpose of the sanitary sewer is to move wastewater from residential and commercial properties to a treatment facility. However, there are several things to know before flushing objects down the toilet. You should never flush baby or hand wipes (even the flushable ones) down a toilet. These wipes do not easily disintegrate. They cause clogged drains and pipes, resulting in backups and costly repairs to the Town’s Public Works System. 

Other non-dissolvable products that should not be flushed down the drain or toilet includes diapers, feminine hygiene products, any greasy or oily food wastes, cotton swabs and plastic products, medications, cigarette butts, hair, gum, coffee grounds, egg shells, or dental floss. 

The storm drains, on the other hand, have a grate cover that acts like a screen to block large items (such as twigs and small tree branches) from draining down the opening. Storm sewers handle runoff from heavy rains, melting snow, and water from surrounding streets and driveways. Storm sewers move water through a network of channels from its drainage site to a natural body of water – usually a stream, river, retention pond, or lake. Since much of the untreated water from the storm sewers ends up in our lake, residents should pay particular attention to reduce or prevent what gets washed into the storm sewer.

Here are just a few suggestions to help our watershed surroundings:

• Leave grass clippings on the lawn. Do not blow clippings into the street or curb. Consider creating a compost bin for cut grass and yard wastes.
• Rather than raking leaves into the road, use your lawn mower to mulch leaves during the fall months. 
• Eliminate or reduce the use of inorganic lawn fertilizers especially those high in phosphorus.  
• Pick up litter and pet waste that you see on your property before it gets washed down the storm drain.
• If you self-wash your car, wash it on your lawn instead of the driveway. Washing your car in the driveway allows soapy water (containing phosphates) as well as dirt, grease, oil, and road salt to flow into the storm drain. 

Now that we know more about sanitary and storm sewers, let’s all work together to become mindful of ways to help safeguard our treasured watershed and keep it healthy for our children, our grandchildren, and generations to come.