Watershed Tips
Many homeowners overfertilize their lawns. Runoff from fertilized lawns increases in-stream nutrient levels. Test soil to determine the necessity of fertilization. USU Analytical laboratories can conduct soil tests. See http://www.usual.usu.edu/
Watershed Tips
Measure the area of your lawn to determine how much lawn care product you need to apply to avoid overfertilization.
Watershed Tips
To avoid fertilizer runoff, don't fertilize your yard if rain is expected within 24 hours (unless the fertilizer is activated by rain).
Watershed Tips
Sweep sidewalks and driveways instead of cleaning with the hose to save water and prevent pollutants from washing into the stream.
Watershed Tips
Prevent trash, lawn clippings, leaves, and automobile fluids from entering storm drains. Avoid using the hose or leaf blower near storm drains.
Watershed Tips
Generally, fertilizer application in the fall has less impact than in spring or summer.
Watershed Tips
Use compost instead of chemical fertilizers and organic methods of pest control instead of chemical pesticides. One idea: pureed and strained hot pepper mixed with water and a drop of dish soap sprayed onto plants can repel many different kinds of insects and even squirrels.
Watershed Tips
Don't bag grass trimmings; allow them to act as a natural mulch for the soil, helping retain moisture and nutrients, also saving time, energy, and landfill space.
Watershed Tips
For deicing, use calcium chloride instead of rock salt. It contains fewer pollutants and requires a lower application rate.
Watershed Tips
Check your sprinklers using this checklist: http://www.conservewater.utah.gov/OutdoorUse/MaintenanceCheck.htm
Watershed Tips
To conserve water and keep your lawn healthy, wait as long as possible in the spring to water your grass.
Watershed Tips
Consider installing a secondary water system to use untreated or "recycled" water for watering the lawn.
Watershed Tips
Water your lawn every third day, for 15 minutes at a time.
Watershed Tips
If you water with sprinklers, water early in the morning to avoid evaporation. Insure that water is not applied to the sidewalk or driveway.
Watershed Tips
Try watering with soaker hoses or trickle systems. Avoid oscillating sprinklers or sprinklers that produce mists or sprays. You may save 20-50 percent of the water used by sprinklers. Plus, deep watering systems keep roots strong and prevent plants from drying out.
Watershed Tips
Keep lawns about 3 inches long so that the grass can shade itself, requiring less watering.
Watershed Tips
Instead of hoses or sprinklers, use buckets to water small gardens, plants, trees and shrubs to control how much water is applied.
Watershed Tips
Request a sprinkler system audit from your local utility, usually offered as a fee service, to determine how to water more efficiently.
Watershed Tips
Lawns are generally overwatered. Grass should lie flat and show footprints when stepped on before needing to be watered.
Watershed Tips
Use a hose with a shut-off valve to control the amount of water used.
Watershed Tips
Consider landscaping with native plants and grasses: they require less maintenance and consume less water. Check out plants and grasses native to Utah: http://www.hort.usu.edu/html/CWEL/nativePlants.htm or http://www.waterwiseplants.utah.gov/.
Watershed Tips
Lawns should be landscaped so that plants and grass absorb runoff from roofs. Or, direct runoff and gutters toward trees or shrubs.
Watershed Tips
Use mulch over soil to prevent evaporation from the soil. Mulch also prevents erosion, cuts down on weed growth, and adds nutrients to the soil.
Watershed Tips
Try to shrink your lawn by 5 percent each year beginning with areas difficult to mow, replacing grass with flowers and shrubs.
Watershed Tips
Plants on creek beds help prevent erosion and provide shade for fish and other in-stream species.
Watershed Tips
Maintain riparian zones in farmland to help prevent erosion and sedimentation, but keep livestock from entering these areas.
Watershed Tips
Insure that your septic system is operating properly. Tanks should be checked and cleaned every 3 to 5 years.
Watershed Tips
Be informed of your septic system: where it is located, how much and what type of land is necessary, and what is appropriate to allow into your septic system.
Watershed Tips
What is inappropriate in a septic system? Grease, solvents, chemicals, and medicines. Stormwater should be routed away from the septic system.
Watershed Tips
When boating, avoid shallow areas as motors increase sediment in the water.
Watershed Tips
Properly dispose of fish guts and other animal waste away from the creek or wetlands else it will foul and cause undesired bacteria growth.
Watershed Tips
Spilled oil, gas, and other toxic substances will end up in the water- be careful when you handle toxic substances at home or while boating.
Watershed Tips
Do not clean your car engine at home. Take it to a commercial car wash facility.
Watershed Tips
Be aware of proper hazardous waste disposal days and locations to dispose of oil, antifreeze, gas, and paints.
Watershed Tips
Spread cat litter over oil leaks. After the oil is absorbed, sweep the cat litter and dispose it with your garbage.
Watershed Tips
Livestock waste adds high nutrient levels to the water. Try modifying feed to reduce nutrient levels.
Watershed Tips
On lands where manure is applied, try to reduce soil movement by conservation practices such as tillage, crop residue management, and grazing management.
Watershed Tips
Consider selling manure to other farmers, for compost, or for power generation.
Watershed Tips
Prevent livestock from directly entering streams.
Watershed Tips
Soil erosion at a construction site can add high levels of sediment to a stream, especially after a storm. Assess the erosion and sediment control at the construction site, stabilize exposed soils and drainageways; protect waterways and steep slopes and cuts.
Watershed Tips
To reduce runoff, porous surfaces such as gravel can be used for driveways and sidewalks instead of concrete.
Watershed Tips
When constructing, leave as much vegetation as possible until you are ready to landscape.
Watershed Tips
For most uses, 50 gallons/person/day is sufficient. Check your water meter or water bill to determine how much water is being used.
Watershed Tips
To determine if you are wasting water in your home: Check your water meter at the beginning and end of a one-hour period when you are not using any water. If the reading increases, you are wasting water somewhere in the house.
Watershed Tips
Replace or retrofit showerheads and sink faucets with water-saving devices such as aerators or spray taps.
Watershed Tips
When washing cars, use buckets instead of the hose. Wash the car on grass to absorb runoff, but use a phosphorus-free cleanser.
Watershed Tips
Refrigerate tap water to avoid running the faucet to get cold water.
Watershed Tips
Check and repair any faucet leaks. One drip each second wastes almost 9 gallons/day.
Watershed Tips
Water plants with old fish tank water. It’s great for the plants.
Watershed Tips
Reuse faucet water by keeping a plastic bowl or bucket in the sink for watering plants or the lawn.
Watershed Tips
Don’t flush the toilet to dispose of tissues or other trash.
Watershed Tips
Newer toilets use up to 4 times less water than older models. For older toilets (before 1992), place a water-filled plastic bottle in the tank to use less water. Check the date stamp under the lid of the toilet.
Watershed Tips
Run dishwashers and washing machines only when filled to capacity and set to use the least amount of water (i.e., "water miser" or "small load").
Watershed Tips
Take shorter showers or, if bathing, fill the tub only halfway.
Watershed Tips
To determine if your toilet is leaking: Put a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. After 30 minutes, if the water in the toilet bowl changes color you have a leak and need to repair it.
Watershed Tips
Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or shaving and save 10-20 gallons of water.
Watershed Tips
If buying a washing machine or dishwasher, make sure that it meets EPA standards for water and energy conservation demonstrated by the green "Energy Star." These models also save money in lower bills.
Watershed Tips
Dishwashers use less water than washing dishes by hand.
Watershed Tips
Don't dispose of solvents, paints, medication, nail polish remover, varnish, or other toxins in the toilet or sink. These chemicals can end up in the stream. Rule of thumb: if it could hurt a fish, don’t put it down. Find out about community hazardous waste days and locations.
Watershed Tips
Baking soda, distilled white vinegar, lemon juice, and ammonia can be used as alternatives to many toxic chemicals.
Watershed Tips
Go to http://www.h2ouse.org/ to calculate how much water your home uses and determine what you can do to save water in your home.
Watershed Tips
Avoid caustic toilet cleaners (such as tank tablets) which alter the water's pH, damage toilet parts, and cause leaks.
Watershed Tips
Garbage disposals contribute suspended solids and organic material to wastewater. Do not put fats, grease, coffee grounds, paper towels, sanitary products, or powder detergents down your disposal.
Watershed Tips
When walking your dog, collect the waste and properly dispose of it by putting it in the trash, flushing it down the toilet, or burying it at least 5 inches deep. Pet waste contains viruses and bacteria that can contaminate surface and groundwater.
Watershed Tips
Help stencil storm drains to alert people that water in storm drains goes directly to the stream.
Welcome to the Bear Watershed Information System
As part of a Targeted Watersheds Grant sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Utah State University developed this Watershed Information System (WIS) for the Bear River in collaboration with the Bear River Commission, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming Departments of Environmental Quality, and a number of other interested stakeholders. This website is intended to be a central location where users can get data and information related to water quality and other watershed related issues in the Bear River Basin.
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Monitoring at the Wildlife Refuge
Access the Utah State University website for continuous monitoring data for Mud Lake at the Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
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Time Series Analyst
The Time Series Analyst allows you to visualize and extract all of the time series data stored in the Bear River WIS observations database.
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USU Real-Time Monitoring in the Bear River Basin
Access the Utah State University Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring page for current measurements of water quality, streamflow, and weather observations from many different locations in the Bear River Basin.
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Bear River WIS Map Server
Explore the Bear River Basin using the interactive Bear River WIS Map Server. You can pinpoint water quality stations and dams, display land use and percipitation coverages, or even link to a powerful analyst tool with access to years of water quality data.
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