Pollution Assessment and Prevention Programs for Homeowners

EXTENSION – TARGET AUDIENCE: HOMEOWNERS

Land Grant University Extension educates and trains homeowners how to make wise nutrient and pesticide management decisions around their home that will minimize ground and surface water contamination. Here is a sampling of such Extension programs.

Pollution Assessment and Prevention Programs

Homeowners identify potential risks to their health or the environment around their home and take action in the Home*A*Syst, a program run by Land Grant University Extension programs.

A follow-up sampling survey found that participants in Nebraska Home*A*Syst rated their knowledge of water quality risks at 4 before the program and 8 after the program (1 being low and 10 being high). Using the same scale, participants rated their willingness to consider making changes to practices associated with risks to water quality at 5 before and 9 after. Forty-two percent of respondents indicated they had completed a change as a result of attending the program.

Wisconsin Home*A*Syst efforts at the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Reservation resulted in 150 failing septic systems being repaired or replaced.

Sustainable Landscaping Programs
Land Grant University Extension programs are improving the ability of homeowners to manage sustainable landscapes thereby reducing nutrient and pesticide pollution to ground and surface water. These programs promote "smart" landscaping techniques using methods to reduce surface runoff, minimize leaching of agrichemicals, and reduce nutrient contamination to water resources

The Healthy Landscapes Project at the University of Rhode Island (URI) educates homeowners on pollution prevention best management practices that they can implement in their backyards to protect water quality. More than 54 percent of survey respondents have adopted at least one “smart” landscaping practice, and about 21 percent plan to incorporate a new practice in their landscaping. In addition, URI Master Gardeners were trained in Healthy Landscapes techniques and transfer this information to the gardening public.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Water Program jointly sponsored the “From Our Backyards to the Bay: An Urban Nutrient Management” Forum which gathered turf researchers, Land Grant University Extension, and commercial fertilizer representatives to learn and communicate the latest in fertilizer needs and strategies for home lawns.

Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who share their knowledge and love of gardening as a vital part of the Land Grant University Extension System team. More and more Master Gardener programs are incorporating sustainable landscaping into their trainings, workshops, published materials, and actual landscaping projects. For example, Washington State University created a water quality training curriculum that can be incorporated into Master Gardener programs.

woman mowing lawn The Michigan Turfgrass Stewardship Initiative (MTSI) is preparing brochures and other outreach materials for homeowners that outline environmentally sensitive lawn care practices.

An integrated project targeting to change homeowners’ lawn care behavior to reduce nutrient losses aims to obtain: 70% of neighborhood participants indicating greater willingness to adopt more water quality friendly practices; 65% committing to adopt at least 2-3 recommended nutrient application reduction strategies; and 60% adopting at least 2 recommended practices in the following growing season.

Integrated Pest Management Education

The Urban Integrated Pest Management in the Southern Region Project is developing a website at NCSU that will contain turfgrass selection, establishment and maintenance information for homeowners by state.

Outreach materials on integrated pest management are being targeted at homeowners in low-income urban neighborhoods in response to surveys conducted of this audience by Pennsylvania State University. Culturally and situation-appropriate materials will enable and empower residents to make positive behavioral changes in the home, reducing health and environmental risks.

Onsite Wastewater Education

The New England Onsite Wastewater Training Center (OWTC) provides a variety of courses with classroom and hands-on education for professionals, regulators, municipal and state officials, watershed groups, real estate agents and homeowners throughout New England. The OWTC has a demonstration site complete with 22 full-scale above ground systems for hands-on learning about conventional, alternative and innovative septic systems. The OWTC has partnered up with CSREES programs in EPA Region 2 and other National Programs.

people attending onsite wastewater treatment training The capacity of the land-grant universities to deliver high-quality training on design, installation, maintenance, and management of onsite wastewater systems has been increased due to the collaboration between the Consortium of Institutes for Decentralized Wastewater Systems, a collaboration of more than 30 universities across the United States that provides decentralized wastewater system (septic) training. The Consortium has developed a curriculum for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems Training that is aimed for use nationwide.

There are numerous Land Grant University programs, including the Ohio State University Soil Environment Technology Learning Lab, the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Water Quality Program (Miller, 2004), and the University of Minnesota Onsite Sewage Treatment Program that teach proper septic system operation, maintenance, design, installation and inspection through fact sheets and demonstrations to homeowners, professionals and commercial establishments.

Onsite wastewater issues were addressed in a day-long symposium at the 2007 CSREES National Water Conference.