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Content by Lisa Merwin, CPESC Here is how you can properly dispose of your pet’s waste and prevent local water pollution and disease. • Take a plastic bag or pooper scooper or paper cup along when walking your pet. Dispose of the waste properly in the household trash after securely wrapping it. Landfills are designed to safely handle substances such as dog waste and cat litter. • Flush it down the toilet if your sewage goes to a treatment plant. • Use a pet waste station provided by the City of Albany. • Hire a pooper-scooper company to manage the dog waste on your lawn. • Do NOT bury it or put in a compost pile. The pile will NOT kill disease organisms in the waste. Report illegal or illicit discharges to Stormwater Program Manager [PHONE REDACTED] [EMAIL REDACTED] And Animal Control [PHONE REDACTED] [EMAIL REDACTED] City of Albany Department of Water & Water Supply www.albanyny.org/stormwater.aspx Stormwater Coalition of Albany County http://www.stormwateralbanycounty.org/ Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District http://www.albanycounty.com/Government/Dep artments/SoilandWaterConservationDistrict/stor mwatermanagement.aspx Peter W. Beck Stormwater Program Manager Department of Water & Water Supply 10 North Enterprise Drive Albany, NY 12204 [PHONE REDACTED] [EMAIL REDACTED] ---PAGE BREAK--- Content by Lisa Merwin, CPESC It might not seem like a stormwater problem, but animal waste is one of the many seemingly small sources of pollution that can add up to big problems for water quality and even human health. Bagged up and unbagged pet waste thrown in storm sewer grates, openings, drains, or manholes is an example of an illicit discharge which is a major cause of water pollution. Federal, New York State and the City of Albany prohibit illegal or illicit discharges to storm sewer systems and are punishable by fine and/or imprisonment. • Pet waste when improperly disposed of washes into lakes or streams, the waste decays, using up oxygen and sometimes releasing ammonia. Low oxygen levels and ammonia combined with warm temperatures kill fish. • Pet wastes contain nutrients that encourage weed and algae growth. Overly fertile water becomes cloudy, green and unusable for swimming, boating, or fishing. • Pet waste is a threat to human and environmental health because it contains harmful bacterial and pathogens, some of which can cause serious diseases in humans. • Pet waste can carry diseases which could make water unsafe for contact. 1. Dog feces are one of the most common carriers of the following diseases: Whipworms Parvo Hookworms Corona Tapeworms Giardiasis Salmonellosis 2. A single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness, and serious kidney disorders in humans. 3. EPA estimates that 2 or 3 days’ worth of droppings from a population of about 100 dogs would contribute enough bacteria to temporarily close a bay, and all watershed areas within 20 miles of it, to swimming and shell fishing. 4. There are an estimated 74.8 million dogs owned in the United States, which create 72.5 billion pounds of dog waste every year! 5. Studies have found that roughly 40% of Americans don’t pick up their dogs’ feces (women are more likely to do so than men). • Affects the quality of water we drink and the water we play in at the beach. • Diseases can spread to people directly and indirectly as contaminated water enters the food chain. • There is a cost to local governments and to us, the taxpayers, when systems must be cleaned and repaired and health issues must be treated.