The Residential Pledge
Although individual homes might contribute only minor amounts of pollution to the environment, the combined effect of residential neighborhoods has a serious impact on our lakes, streams and groundwater. The residential pledge program helps you learn what you can do as a homeowner or renter to ensure that our water stays clean and healthy.
Take the pledge
online
to go through a checklist of practices you can use to prevent pollution
from your home.
The Residential Pledge program has been promoted to residents throughout Whatcom
County. Watershed-specific materials have been created to target the
following areas:
Lake Whatcom
watershed Lake Whatcom provides
drinking water for more than 65,000 county residents.
Abbotsford-Sumas
Aquifer Most residents living in and around the communities
of Everson, Lynden, Nooksack and Sumas, live above this shallow
groundwater aquifer, which provides drinking water for many rural
residents.
Padden Creek
watershed This
watershed in south Bellingham is home to Fairhaven and Western Washington
University.
Squalicum Creek
watershed Squalicum Creek drains most of North Bellingham, and
stretches east to encompass Toad and Squalicum lakes.
Coastal
Watershed This area covers the Whatcom County coastline from
Cherry Point to Larrabee State Park.
Drayton
Harbor / Birch Bay watersheds A large area extending from
Blaine all the way to North Ferndale drains to Drayton Harbor via
California and Dakota creeks. Most of Semiahmoo and the areas around
Terrell Creek and its tributaries drain to Birch Bay.
Lower
Nooksack watershed Most of Ferndale falls in this watershed.
It extends from Ferndale all the way up to the southern reaches of Lynden
and Everson. In addition to the lower Nooksack River, this watershed
is drained by a number of smaller lakes and tributaries, including Deer,
Silver, Schneider, Ten Mile, Fourmile and Cougar Creeks, as well as Wiser
Lake.
There are several resources in this section (see the
links at left) you can use to reduce pollution from your home. First,
if you haven't already done so,
take the pledge
online to commit to actions you can personally take, from lawn care practices to septic maintenance. You can get more detailed information on certain topics by
reading through
newsletters we
mailed to residents. Perhaps you are interested in
viewing the results of residential phone
surveys that
evaluated common household practices in three watershed.
One of the best things you can
do to encourage others to protect our environment is to buy products and
services from
businesses that have taken the pledge.
When you support these businesses, remember to thank them for taking the
pledge and doing their part to prevent pollution.
Once you have explored our site, get
more info on local pollution
prevention contacts
and links to other relevant web sites. |
