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Did you know?

In Collier County, storm drains don’t lead to a treatment plant—they flow straight into our lakes, canals, and estuaries! That means anything going down the drain (yes, even grass clippings!) can pollute our waterways. Want to help? Join the Stormwater Inlet Marking Program! It’s a fun, hands-on project perfect for youth groups, HOAs, and community volunteers. You’ll get everything you need to install “No Dumping” plaques that remind neighbors to keep it clean.

Bonus: Cleaner ponds mean lower costs for neighborhoods in the long run! To get involved, contact Pollution Control at 239-252-2502 or pollution_control@colliercountyfl.gov.

Stormwater Inlet Marker Program

Florida LAKEWATCH is one of the largest volunteer water quality monitoring programs in the Nation where citizen scientists monitor over 800 aquatic systems all across the state!

Created in 1986, LAKEWATCH is coordinated through the University of Florida as a Research, Teaching, and Extension program. Data collected are used for research that is then brought back to volunteers; helping them understand and manage their special aquatic systems. The data are also used by federal, state and local agencies to better regulate and man-age lakes.

In return for participation volunteers receive:

• Training in water monitoring techniques
• Use of lake sampling materials and equipment
• Periodic data reports Invitation to meetings where LAKE-WATCH staff provide information on data, aquatic habitats and water management
• Access to coastal and freshwater systems experts

Join LAKEWATCH

The most important goal for keeping a stormwater pond healthy in Southwest Florida is to allow only clean stormwater into it.

Facts:

• The storm sewer system is completely separate from the sanitary sewer system.
• The pond is the collection point of the neighborhood's stormwater drainage system.
• Anything entering a storm inlet will impact the pond. Get this message out in your neighborhood; participate in the County's FREE Stormwater Inlet Marking Program.
• Preventing pollutants from entering the system is the least expensive and most effective tool for maintaining a healthy pond.
• Keeping fertilizer off paved surfaces and away from gutters and swales helps to keep fertilizer out of ponds.
• In South Florida, ponds fill in with organic material grown in the pond itself rather than from sediment and debris carried into it.
• Collier County's sandy soil is porous, transmitting water efficiently. Thus, fertilizing and irrigating according to Florida Friendly Landscape principles is the most cost-effective way to maintain a healthy pond.
• Be aware of other sources of nutrients that should be kept out of stormwater inlets and ponds.
• Besides prevention, there are other management practices that will improve the pond environment and slow the aging process.

Want more information on healthy ponds? 

Choose a Designated Clean Marina!

The Clean Marina Program (CMP) is a voluntary designation program that encourages marina facilities to incorporate the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's environmental Best Management Practices (BMPs), which exceed regulatory requirements. Aligning with DEP's strategic goals, CMP aims to create partnerships with local communities and businesses to protect natural resources and promote economic growth.

These marinas have taken the extra steps to promote clean boating and they'll have the tools to help you too! Click here to see a map of Florida's Designated Clean Marinas.

Become a Clean Boater! 

Collier County participates in the International Coastal Cleanup along with over 900 other sites in Florida. The annual event, internationally coordinated by The Ocean Conservancy, is the oldest and largest beach and waterway cleanup with data collection in the world. The mission is to remove the debris and collect information on the amount and sources of the debris with a volunteer work force. The exercise serves to heighten public awareness of the everyday activities and behaviors that contribute to the litter problem. For several years annual events have been organized and sponsored in Collier County by Keep Collier Beautiful, a non-profit organization with funding from State grants and from the County Recycling program. Coastal Clean-up happens every September, and Bay Days every April.

Learn more about Keep Collier Beautiful!

Adopt-a-Road in Collier County started in 1989 and is modeled after the program started in Texas two years earlier. The program is managed by the Collier County Road Maintenance Department, growing steadily to now include 80 sponsoring groups that gather trash and other potentially more harmful pollutants from 207 miles of roadway, and almost double that amount of miles in swales lining each side of the road. The trash is bagged up, with larger debris piled near roadside stations. From there, County maintenance crews take it to the landfill. In the year 2000 an average of 50 tons of trash per month was prevented from entering the stormwater collection system via swales along these roadsides. As part of the program, signs are posted along adopted roadway segments recognizing the sponsor.

For more information, call the Collier County Road Maintenance Department at 239-252-8924 to become a sponsoring group.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program offers County residents a way to properly dispose of hazardous waste generated by household use without charge. You are encouraged to take advantage of this service and tell others, so that more waste is controlled and less waste will enter the storm sewers. Collier County's Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program is run by the Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD). For more information call 239-252-2508, or visit their website.

• Listen for television and radio public service announcements that identify what household products are hazardous and the locations and hours of operation of regular collection centers and special collection events.

• "Waste Round-up" events are held semi-annually that expand the normal collection sites to several drop-off-spots closer to neighborhoods in an effort to increase citizen participation.

• Posters and brochures are available. They illustrate typical household hazardous wastes, provide addresses and phone numbers of collection facilities, and provide website addresses that can be used to get more information. Posting this information in your community center will help spread the word.

In an effort to keep biomass from becoming a stormwater pollutant, Collier County Solid Waste Management Department gives community presentations on composting as part of the Master Gardeners program sessions sponsored by the University Extension Service. To learn more about the SWMD Yard Waste Collection and Composting programs and ways to control yard waste in your neighborhood, visit the SWMD website or call them at 239-252-2508.

SQG Businesses

 The Small Quantity Generator Program (SQG) is a program that is designed to help businesses maintain the hazardous substances that are used or produced while performing services for residents and other businesses in accordance with numerous Federal and State rules and regulations. This allows hazardous wastes to still be used but requires proper storage and disposal of these wastes to protect public health and safety, water quality, and the overall health of the environment.

Collier County's Solid and Hazardous Waste Department (SHWMD) can assist you with any questions, inspections, or education about this program.

Carwashes

Washing vehicles can be a source of pollution to the storm sewer system and surface water in general. Oil, grease asbestos, coolant, brake fluid, trace metals and grit are carried in the wash water, especially in mechanized carwashes that rinse the undercarriage.

To reduce water pollution from your carwash, implement these Best Management Practices from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection: BMPs for Mobile Vehicle Washing

Mechanic and Auto Shops

Just like a carwash, mechanic and auto body shops may contribute oil, grease, trace metals, and more to the stormwater system. Prevent this through applying the Best Management Practices (BMP's) of the trade as part of the regular routine. Sweeping the floor rather than hosing it down, having spill kits on hand, and proper disposal of used items will all help minimize stormwater pollution!

Marinas

Become a designated 'Florida Clean Marina' to ensure that both your facility and guests are not contributing to stormwater pollution.

List of current Designated Clean Marinas

Pool Contractors

Use proper pool dewatering practices to prevent chemicals from the pool entering our waterways. If there is an area that is tricky, please call 239-252-2502 for extra assistance with creating a best management plan for dewatering in that area.

Golf Courses

 Although the greens are regulated under different fertilizer and irrigation requirements, make sure the rest of the property is following current fertilizer and irrigation ordinances. Also, consider using Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ (FFL) to minimize operating costs and reduce impact on local waterways. Commercial Checklist for FFL

Mulch, grass and other yard clippings; they release nutrients and consume oxygen from the water as they decompose.

Grit can have undissolved petroleum-based chemicals, and landscape and household chemicals attached to it. Grass or other rooted ground covers are very effective for trapping debris and sediment from stormwater runoff. They can be used in swales and ditches, and as buffers around grated storm inlets and around the edge of ponds.

Malfunctioning septic systems leaking under-treated wastewater can be a significant source of nutrients and bacteria that may leach into groundwater and nearby ponds.

Leaking, broken or overloaded sanitary sewer lines in an area served by a municipal sewer system can be sources of nutrients and bacteria if they are close enough to a pond. If you notice stormwater inlets with a pungent odor, or a roadside swale that never seems to dry up in the dry season (December-April), it's possibly due to a sanitary sewer line and should be reported to the operator of the sanitary sewer system.

The concentration of nutrients dissolved in water controls the amount of plant growth that takes place in the pond. In South Florida, ponds fill in with organic material grown in the pond itself rather than from sediment and debris carried into it. Algae are the most immediate to respond to any dissolved nutrients in the pond. Exploding algae growth, or "blooms" will make the water look murky green or brown, and will continue until the dissolved oxygen or limiting nutrient in the water is depleted. During this process fish can suffocate in large numbers ("fish kill") and algae die and drop to the bottom.

As aquatic plants complete their growth cycle and die, they sink to the pond bottom along with the algae and form layers of biomass. These layers of decomposing vegetation produce hydrogen sulfide gas that smells like rotten egg and causes chunks of biomass to float to the surface. People sometimes think they are seeing and smelling raw sewage in the pond.

In time, this biomass fills the pond and the pond becomes a marsh. Because of the tremendous amount of fertilizer used in urban landscapes, and our sandy soil, ponds in these settings usually experience very rapid plant and algae growth, thus speeding up the process of turning it into a marsh.

Not only does the pond become unpleasant to live next to as the years go by, it also loses its capacity to remove stormwater pollutants and control floodwaters during large rainfall events. Eventually, the pond must be dredged out to restore its functionality, a costly operation.

Preventive measures to keep pollutants from entering a pond is the most efficient way to preserve pond quality, but some amount of nutrients will find their to it. There are ways to enhance pond quality by treating the water in the pond.

Littoral zones are areas in a pond where nearly flat shelves are constructed to produce relatively shallow water that supports varieties of plants. They are usually formed around the edge of the pond and serve to stop debris from flushing into the pond, and to create habitat for wildlife. The plants remove some nutrients from the water, but should be mechanically removed from the pond before dying to prevent nutrient release and oxygen consumption during decomposition.

Aquatic plants also grow in deeper water, away from the littoral areas as stormwater ponds become shallow enough for sunlight to penetrate to a depth sufficient for plants to root and grow from the pond bottom. Others float on the surface, unsecured to the pond bottom. These plants improve water quality as they draw nutrients from the water, thus reducing algae production and improving water clarity. They also produce oxygen and are a food source for some fish. Given enough nutrients dissolved in the pond water however, many species of these plants will overgrow, blocking water flow and reducing the capacity of the pond for storing floodwater. Like littoral plants, they should be mechanically removed from the pond before dying to prevent nutrient release and oxygen consumption during decomposition. An aquatic plant maintenance plan that only involves controlling the vegetation with herbicides is not a strategy for success. Only mechanical removal of vegetation will give the short term benefits of improved water quality and aesthetics, and the long term benefits of a pond that does not turn into a swamp that must be dredged out. Aquatic plant control with herbicides is a cheaper short term solution, but does not give quality results or long term savings.

Triploid grass carp are large consumers of aquatic plants and are sometimes introduced to control the overgrowth of vegetation. Ideally, this completes the natural cycle by removing aquatic plants after nutrient uptake, oxygenation and water clarification afforded by the plants. Unfortunately, algae is not part of the diet.  

Fountains provide some near-surface water circulation and help oxygenate pond water. Higher oxygen levels promote biologic growth and aerobic decomposition. Reservoir circulators provide large volume water circulation and mixing from all pond depths, increasing oxygen levels and pH levels throughout the water column. They have been used successfully for many years in industrial and domestic wastewater treatment ponds for improving water quality. There are solar powered reservoir circulators that operate independently once deployed. More recently they are proving useful in stormwater treatment ponds due to increased environmental regulations for stormwater quality.

Recirculating irrigation systems draw water from the stormwater pond instead of from a well or municipal water supply. Municipal water supplies are too valuable to be used for irrigation and should be avoided if possible (with exception of reclaimed wastewater). Well water can have high concentrations of dissolved calcium, magnesium, sodium and iron. Dissolved iron concentrations over about 1 part per million, in combination with the scale forming minerals of calcium and magnesium, form brown stains on vegetation and building surfaces. They can inhibit plant growth if concentrations are high enough. Scale can form on leaf surfaces and soil pH can rise to undesirable levels. Well water has very little dissolved oxygen, which is beneficial for plant growth.

Pond water on the other hand has relatively low pH, higher concentration of dissolved oxygen and low levels of dissolved calcium, magnesium and iron. In most cases, urban pond water has elevated levels of nutrients that will be recycled onto the landscape where it is beneficial. In addition, pumping water from the pond induces some circulation, which is good for pond water quality.