Page 18 - Sonoma County Gazette Juy 2019
P. 18

 Just In Time For Summer: Pesticide Ban on County-Owned Land in Sonoma County
By Megan Kaun
Summer is here and that means hanging out at our favorite local spots like
Doran Beach, Spring Lake, and Guerneville River Park. Thanks to the forward- thinking leadership of our Sonoma County Agencies, you can now spend time at these places knowing they haven’t been sprayed with synthetic pesticides.
Pesticides include any chemical designed to kill a target pest: herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc. Pesticides, however, do not only harm the targets indicated on their labels: herbicides kill insects, insecticides harm people, fungicides kill birds. Pesticides are designed to kill and should be used with caution.
Water Conservation, Car Washes, and Water Waste
Most of the pesticides used today are “synthetic”, meaning they were
not derived from substances that occur in nature. Synthetic pesticides, like glyphosate in RoundUp®, are long lasting toxicants in the environment and are linked to many human health problems. These chemicals do not break down quickly but often linger in the environment for months or years. Pesticide residue is routinely found in our air, waterways, drinking water, soil, rain, and in our bodies (urine, breast milk, etc). Exposure to multiple pesticides creates negative synergistic effects that we’re only just starting
to understand. Children are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of toxic exposure including lower IQs, birth defects, developmental delays, autism, ADHD, and cancer.
Summer is upon us! We have completed our spring cleanup around the yard, made sure no standing water is present on our properties attracting mosquitos and setup our outdoor furniture. Summer also marks an important time of
the year for water conservation. By using water wisely in the summer, it helps preserve our healthy watershed for the remainder of the year. Even though we received a lot of rainfall this winter, it is important to minimize water waste throughout our community.
On June 4, 2019, the Sonoma County Supervisors voted unanimously to ban the use of synthetic pesticides at “agency-maintained campuses, sidewalks, playing fields, plazas, playgrounds, and County agency-maintained libraries”. A detailed “no synthetic spray zone” map will be available to the public by the end of 2019.
• Know When to Water: Make sure your irrigation system is running at night or in the early morning to avoid increased evaporation and wind interference.
This means that synthetic pesticides will no longer be used on land owned by the County of Sonoma where the public has access.
The County will continue to use synthetic pesticides at places like roadsides and facilities managed by Sonoma Water, and to control invasive plants. The County will, however, increase transparency on when, where, and how much it uses synthetic pesticides, and will publish an annual report on pesticide reductions.
• Rethink the Watershed on Your Property: Redirect downspouts toward vegetated landscape or install rain chains to direct water to a catchment system. These simple measures will send rainwater where it can be used by plants or absorbed into the ground instead of to storm drains.
What this does not mean is that Sonoma County is pesticide-free.
• Add Mulch: Make sure to add mulch around plants to help insulate the soil, to provide a buffer from heat, help retain water, and prevents weeds that would otherwise compete for resources.
• Convert your lawn: Lawn uses
a majority of outdoor irrigation because of spray irrigation inefficiencies. Remove lawn, plant natives, and install drip irrigation.
To achieve this goal, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Full pesticide bans instituted at region-wide levels that would apply to
all cities, businesses and individuals simultaneously are difficult to legally uphold. The good news is that each individual municipality, school, farm, and business, has the right to make its own decisions regarding the chemicals they use. Advocating for non-toxic pest control, therefore, often requires a lot of relationship building, education, negotiation, and community organization.
Sonoma County Conservation Action (SCCA) has been working with government agencies, schools, and individuals to stop the use of synthetic pesticides since 2017. When the Toxic Free Future Campaign was launched, most of the cities and schools in Sonoma County relied heavily on synthetic weedkillers (like RoundUp) for routine, cosmetic weed control.
• Rebate Programs: Local water utilities offer rebates to help customers conserve water. Check your local water utilities website to see which rebates are available.
Thanks to this campaign and its participants, the majority of cities in Sonoma County now have some sort of enlightened policy that prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides at parks and where people frequent.
• Rethink your summer car
washing: Automatic car washes
are required by law to properly
dispose of their water waste.
Everything that’s been stuck
to your car—gasoline, oil,
heavy metal particles, tar, and
particulate matter from exhaust
fumes—has the potential to
flow from your wash area to
the nearest storm drain and
eventually reach the Russian
River. Most commercial car wash facilities will filter rinse water and direct it to a sanitary sewer where it will get treated and possibly reused (recycled water).
This article was authored by Chad Singleton, of Sonoma Water, on behalf of RRWA. RRWA (www.rrwatershed.org) is an association of local public agencies in the Russian River Watershed that have come together to coordinate regional programs for clean water, habitat restoration, and watershed enhancement.
Santa Rosa, Windsor, and Sebastopol have formal policies prohibiting use of all synthetic pesticides, and Petaluma, Healdsburg, and Sonoma have informal policies limiting use of synthetic pesticides at parks.
SCCA is working to help all cities and schools in Sonoma County implement toxic-free landscape policies through ducation and negotiation.
Learn more and support this work, please come to
Pesticides in Paradise with Mitchel Cohen & Robin T. Falk Esser, PhD
For online information about water conservation, green car wash facilities in Sonoma County or to report water waste, go to the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership website at: http://www.savingwaterpartnership.org/
August 5th, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol For tickets: https://dailyacts.org/events-1/?eid=11836
18 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 7/19
Here are some ways in which you can reduce your summer water use: • Manually Check Irrigation System and Repair Leaks: By manually
running through each irrigation station, you can accurately assess your system and make sure no water is being wasted. Fix any leaks that appear and prevent runoff.
• Plant Natives: Plant drought- tolerant, low water use plants. Natives are recommended since they are adapted to our climate and will demand less resources.
















































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