During the summer months, Florida has “the rainy season. During this season on average 65-75% more rainwater will be saturating your lawn. While a large amount of rainfall on your lawn might be good for some of your plants, the overflow of water that flows off your lawn is toxic to our canals, rivers, lakes, and wetlands.

High levels of phosphorus are naturally found in Florida’s soil. An important thing to understand about Florida’s soil is it is naturally high in phosphorus. This is significant to be aware of as (blue-green algae) toxic water blooms are formed by high concentrations of Phosphorus in the canals, lakes, rivers, and our drinking water. The blooms produce toxins that affect our drinking water and at certain levels, this water is harmful to humans and our aquatic life.

Storm water runoff is the water that cannot be absorbed by your lawn and plants. This water goes directly to the closest body of water. Not only is this water contaminated with fertilizer but also grass clippings. This makes the potential for water blooms to increase significantly.

To reduce storm water runoff, the most effective thing you can do is to water your lawn correctly. You will be doing more harm to your lawn and most importantly to our environment if you sprinkle the day of or the day after a rainstorm. Doing this helps our environment, saves water, saves electricity and saves money.