Simple steps that Elmsford residents and businesses can take to help clean up Village streams, lakes and improve water quality in the Saw Mill River and Bronx River What is Stormwater Pollution: Stormwater pollution refers to many types of harmful materials that are carried by water (rain water, wash water or snow melt) through the storm drain system to our creeks, lakes and the Saw Mill River. These pollutants can include: sediments, nutrients, trash, metals, bacteria, oil and grease, phosphorus and organics. Get Involved: Volunteers are needed to assist with waterway and roadside cleanup efforts, beautification projects, storm drain marking and neighborhood cleanups. Put together a group of friends, plan to meet over coffee and help keep trash and other pollutants out of our waters. Contact the Village's Stormwater Management Coordinator for details. Dispose of Household Products Carefully: Many products under the sink or in the garage can harm water quality. Never pour paints, preservatives, brush cleaners and solvents down the drain. Sewers or septic tanks do not treat these materials and they can enter waterways untreated. Buy a product with the least amount of toxic materials. Read labels carefully for disposal instructions. Learn about Westchester County's
Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Program. For information call 914-813-5425 or log onto the County website at http://www.westchestergov.com Care for your lawn cautiously: Lawns with trees and shrubs prevent erosion, soak up nutrients before they run off into waterways, and improve soil by adding organic materials. Plant the right grass by testing the soil annually. Use the proper fertilizer, and do not over-fertilize. Improper fertilizing can lead to disease, poor root growth and weed problems. Water your lawn and shrubs only when it is dry by soaking the soil thoroughly. If you have a lawn service, make sure it is customized to your needs. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination: Items which find their way into waterways and storm drains, either by accident or deliberately, decrease water quality and create unsightly conditions. Carelessly discarded trash, illegal connections of waste water and other products, household chemicals, oil, and nutrients from over fertilization of lawns can be washed into drains when it rains and eventually end up in our waterways. In 2006, the Village will begin a program to locate and identify discharges from illegal connections which decrease water quality and take enforcement action where appropriate. If you think your home or business may have an illegal connection to the storm drain, contact the Village's Stormwater
Management Coordinator to learn how to correct the condition.
Do you have a dog? Pet waste is a major contributor to stormwater pollution, always pick up after your dog, and visit our Village Dog Park at the corner of Winthrop Avenue and North Evarts. Complementary pet waste bags are provided at the entrance to the park.
View the Village of Elmsford's 2012 Annual Report for Stormwater:
View a map of the Village's Stormshed to find out which river your property drains into. In general, the East half of the Village, up to and including Evarts Avenue drains to the Bronx River while the West half of the Village west of Evarts and including the high school and middle school property drains to the Saw Mill River.
Additional Information regarding the Village's Stormwater Program
On March 10, 2003, the Village of Elmsford began the development of its Stormwater Management Plan, mandated by the United States Department of Environmental Protection and administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The plan requires that the Village make every effort to improve the water quality of its streams, lakes and rivers. The Village must implement six (6) minimum control measures including educating the public, soliciting participation and involvement of the public, detection and elimination of illicit discharges, control of construction site runoff, maintenance and operation of post construction structural Best Management Practices and pollution prevention and good housekeeping at municipal facilities. As part of the Villages illicit detection, construction and post construction efforts, grants from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation were received by a consortium of municipalities and work is underway. The grants provide for development of legislation and implementation of municipal programs to locate, monitor and eliminate illicit discharges, provide training of Village staff to inspect construction sites to insure compliance with stormwater regulations, train contractors to insure compliance with Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans and develop a program to insure that all stormwater related installations are properly maintained in the future.
In 2006 the Village kicked off it's storm drain marking program with the help of the Saw Mill River Coalition and Volunteers from the Alexander Hamilton High School Key Club. Drain Markers were installed alongside storm drain inlets (as seen in the photo at the top of the page) to make people aware that what goes in the drain comes out in the river. Additional markers were installed in 2009 by Americorps Volunteers so that all the drains on the major streets in the Village and around the parks were marked. Learn what you can about improving stormwater quality by visiting the following websites: United States Environmental Protection Agency:
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