[Watersheds] Pet waste

[Panciera, Ernie (DEM)]

A question was recently posed to the national Nonpoint Source Listserve asking for information on Pet Waste Pick Up Campaigns.  We thought you might be interested in the responses below.
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>From Vermont Northwest Regional Planning Commission:

In Vermont our organization has partnered with the Lake Champlain Committee on an annual campaign to pick up pet waste;  Lori Fisher, Executive Director is the contact that I have copied here.  They partner with different communities across the state in the spring of each year, after snow melt, to do an event.  Our organization aids in the coordination of this event to as part of our stormwater outreach and education of two MS4 Communities (St. Albans City and Town). You can also find info on their webpage about the annual April Stools Day...  https://www.lakechamplaincommittee.org/lcc-at-work/bacteria-in-lake/

Regarding our specific hosted events. We have done it for 3 years, since the start of the area's MS4 permit.  Volunteer turn out has been small to date but amount collected has been large.  Our struggle has been like any other outreach effort - what is the best way to get volunteers for sure but mainly how to educate about the issue and that individuals should play this role to aid the larger issue of water quality of Lake Champlain.  Our main avenue of getting the word out before and after the event is social media by the municipalities and our partnering watershed organizations.

We do not do any evaluations of the success of the campaign.  But report out on estimated amount of waste removed.

It would be great to hear the feedback you receive from others to help inform our efforts this year.

Cheers,
Amanda

Amanda Holland, AICP
Regional Planner
Northwest Regional Planning Commission
75 Fairfield Street, St. Albans, VT 05478
802-524-5958
www.nrpcvt.com<http://www.nrpcvt.com/<http://www.nrpcvt.com%3chttp:/www.nrpcvt.com/>>

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>From The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation- Division of Water Supply Protection:

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation- Division of Water Supply Protection has been conducting ongoing outreach regarding pet waste since 2007. We are responsible for managing the DCR owned watershed lands of the Wachusett Reservoir in Central Massachusetts as well as monitoring the entire watershed for potential water quality impacts. The reservoir is an unfiltered drinking water supply for 2.2 million residents of greater Boston, and water quality samples are taken regularly from tributaries to monitor bacteria levels. As our rules do not allow for dogs on our property, our outreach has centered on the 6 towns that fall within the watershed in hopes that it will show improvement in the local streams. There are no official dog parks within the watershed where we could reach dog owners in one place. I hope you find some of this information useful.

To date, DCR has:

*         Sent hundreds of letters asking residents to pick up after their pets in areas where bacteria levels have been high in neighborhood tributaries

*         Developed a brochure (found here: http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/watersupply/watershed/wachdogwaste.pdf) which has been distributed to over 30,000 people by the following means:

o   Within a mailing of one City's water utility bill (this reached over 20,000 households and was cost efficient for us as the City paid for the mailing)

o   Through each town clerk's office (each spring) with dog licenses, and are made available year round at town and city halls

o   We partnered with local veterinarians who gave each dog owner a brochure and made them available in their offices

o   We have given these out at all community events that staff participates in

o   We have also modified this brochure by using more simple words and pictures for the younger audiences that we have worked with or groups we have visited such as local scout troops

*         We have placed information regarding dog waste on all of our bulletin boards in an effort to explain to visitors why dogs are not allowed near the drinking water supply on our land

*         We provided simple dog waste bag dispensers to each town Recreation Department for use where dog waste had become a problem. These work well, as the traditional dispensers that are purchased need a constant funding source for replacement bags, and this method relies on people providing their own bags.

*         We partnered with a 5th grade class on a yearlong project on the dangers of pet waste which culminated in a public service announcement video by the students that was shown on local cable tv and their own brochures. This was received very well by residents as the message wasn't coming from any "official"; and we did the same with a local girl scout troop in another town.

*         Conducted initial microbial source tracking study; 2 samples tested found dogs are a significant contributor to our bacteria numbers)  and we Developed our own public service announcement which has been given to all local cable tv stations and is available on several websites (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2_FksK6I-s)

*         We worked with the City of Leominster on an ordinance requiring dog owners to pick up after their dogs on their own property and allowing the public health director to fine property owners that don't and are posing a public health issue

*         We have presented to many associations and groups

*         And finally- this year we made our own Halloween display for the month of October

One huge barrier that has been found is asking people to pick up after their pets and not having a trash receptacle or anywhere that they can throw their bags. People do not want to carry around a bag of dog waste, or put it in their car, especially in hot summer months.

We haven't officially evaluated our outreach, but I very rarely see someone walking their dog without pick up bags now. We also continue to monitor bacteria in our tributaries regularly.

One of the problems I have found is coming up with new ideas to get the message across after a length of time!

If I can answer any questions or if you would like more information on anything we have done, please don't hesitate to contact me.

From: "Freda, Kelley (DCR)" <kelley.freda at state.ma.us<mailto:kelley.freda at state.ma.us>


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