Spring is around the corner and, as the weather warms up, many people get out to walk their dogs. Stepping in dog waste can be a disgusting experience. Worse yet is knowing pet waste may be polluting drinking water and local recreational areas. When rain and snowmelt flow across the land, pet waste is carried to storm drains which eventually flow into a lake or stream. Pet waste contains pathogens such as bacteria, parasites and viruses. This poses an unnecessary public health and environmental risk.
Did You Know? One day’s waste from a large dog can contain as much as seven billion fecal coliform bacteria!
Ingestion of fecal coliform bacteria is known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness and serious kidney disorders in humans. Picking up after pets is a simple step to help keep harmful bacteria out of the Straight River and keep neighborhoods and waterways sanitary and livable.
Here are a few tips on how dog owners can help protect local water and recreation areas:
- Always take a disposal bag along when walking the dog
- Many trailheads in the Owatonna parks system have bag stations
- Make sure to place the bag in a proper receptacle
- Routinely clean poop from yards, boulevard and paved surfaces
- Clean up pet waste each spring that was left over winter
- Remove all pet waste from yards to prevent melting snow and spring rains from washing away the feces and its pollutants
Please take time to properly dispose of pet waste, we all live downstream!