dog

There Is No Poop Fairy

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Pet waste is seemingly a small source of pollution but over time it can add up to big problems for water quality in stormwater ponds, canals, lakes and streams. Pet waste will not just decompose and go away. Instead, it adds harmful bacteria and nutrients to local waters when it is not disposed of properly.

Unlike wild animals that consume resources from their ecosystem, pets are fed commercially produced foods designed to give them a complete and healthy diet. Because pet food is extremely nutrient rich, pet waste contains high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen. When it rains, pet waste dissolves and can flow into stormwater management systems contributing to water pollution that can degrade water quality.

The waste causes excess nutrients which contribute to algae and nuisance aquatic weed growth, causing low oxygen in the water that can affect the aquatic environment. Nutrient pollution can also cause the waters to become cloudy making it unattractive for property owners. In urban areas, pet waste and fertilizers are among the top sources of nutrients in stormwater ponds.

If not disposed of properly, pet waste not only affects water quality, but public health. The pathogens like bacteria, parasites and viruses found in pet waste can make people ill. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the average dog excretes between 0.5 and 0.75 pounds of waste per day. One gram of dog waste contains about 23 million coliform bacteria, nearly twice the amount found in the equivalent amount of human waste. It is hard to believe that our furry friends can cause so much trouble.

Remember, there is no Poop Fairy, it is up to you, the pet owner, to help keep pollutants out of local waterways.

White bird by a stormwater pond

Your Stormwater Pond Questions Answered

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Whether you are a long-time resident or you’re new to the Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD) boundary, you may have noticed the many stormwater ponds that dot the landscape. While the State of Florida boasts thousands of waterways, stormwater ponds are man-made water bodies that some may mistake for natural waterways. The following are questions frequently asked by residents about the function and maintenance of stormwater ponds in their neighborhood.

 Q:  What are stormwater ponds and why do we need them?
A:  A stormwater pond is designed to collect and manage runoff from rainwater. When rainwater lands on rooftops, parking lots, streets, driveways and other hard surfaces, the rainfall that does not soak into the ground (stormwater runoff) flows into your neighborhood stormwater pond through grates, pipes or swales. Since 1970, stormwater ponds have been required for most new developments and are specifically designed to help prevent flooding and remove pollutants from the water. Without these ponds, stormwater would carry pollutants like litter, motor oil, gasoline, fertilizers, pesticides, pet wastes, sediments and anything else that can float, into nearby canals, streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries or the ocean.

 Q:  What are the different types of stormwater ponds?

A:  There are 2 common types of stormwater ponds, wet and dry.

  1. A retention or dry pond has an orifice level at the bottom of the basin and does not have a permanent pool of water. All the water runs out between storms, and it usually remains dry when it is not raining.
  2. Wet detention systems (ponds) are the most recognizable stormwater systems. They are designed to allow material to settle and nutrients to be absorbed. After a storm, water drains from a pond through a pipe in the discharge control structure. Part of the pond — known as the permanent pool — is always below the level of the discharge control structure. Sometimes aquatic vegetation is planted around the pond’s perimeter to help filter sediment in stormwater runoff.

Q:  Who is responsible for maintenance of the stormwater ponds in my neighborhood?
A:  In our area, the responsibility for permitting the design and construction of most stormwater systems rests with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). After developers complete construction of permitted systems in residential areas, the permit and the legal responsibility for maintaining these systems are typically passed on to a homeowners or condominium owners association. It is then that the upkeep and maintenance of the system becomes the responsibility of the association. The association is responsible for labor and expenses for keeping the system functional and operating as it was designed. Just like other infrastructure within the community, this responsibility is shared by every property owner in the neighborhood, even if they do not live adjacent to a stormwater pond, as everyone’s stormwater flows into the system.

Q:  How often should detention ponds receive maintenance?

A:  There are several retention pond maintenance tasks to stay on top of. The following is a list of the most important routine measures you should take to prevent more significant problems and keep your pond in good working condition.

  • Inspections: Stormwater pond inspections including pipe interconnections between ponds should be performed as part of an overall maintenance program. Depending on the size of the property, they should be inspected quarterly and within 24 hours of a major storm event. Look for and repair items like obstructions in the discharge control structures, trash accumulation, erosion, and sedimentation.
  • Vegetation management: Monthly mowing helps prevent erosion and maintains pleasing aesthetics around the stormwater pond. Property owners should minimize fertilizer and pesticide use to avoid downstream pollution.
  • Sediment removal: Check the amount of accumulated sediment from the bottom of the discharge control structure to ensure there is a free flow of water. Also, accumulated sediment should be removed from the pond if it has decreased the pond’s design depth by approximately more than 25%.
  • Structural repair and replacement:  Eventually, the structural components like pipes, control structures, banks and side slopes of a stormwater pond will need to be repaired or replaced. A stormwater professional service provider can help you determine when this is necessary. Many providers can be found through an online search or phone directory.

Q: Is it ok to use stormwater ponds for recreational purposes such as swimming, kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding?
A:  Recreational use of stormwater ponds may be hazardous and is not recommended. Stormwater ponds are designed to capture and retain stormwater runoff, which may contain many different types of pollution including heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides and pathogens. Additionally, the vegetation around a stormwater pond may hide dangerous wildlife like rodents, snakes and alligators. Young children, elderly individuals and pets should never be left unattended near a pond for fear of drowning or interaction with dangerous wildlife.

Q:  Is it legal to fish stormwater ponds in Florida?

A:  It is legally acceptable to fish in these bodies of water under the right conditions. The fisherman must have a freshwater fishing license granted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at myfwc.com and you cannot be trespassing on private property.

Q:  What can property owners do to help prevent pollution in stormwater ponds?
A:  Do not dump excess oils and other chemicals from your home, or yard waste like grass clippings, into stormwater ponds of associated drains. Be mindful of applying fertilizers and pesticides near ponds as rain and irrigation may wash these contaminants into adjacent water bodies. Also, be sure to clean up pet waste so nutrients and bacteria do not wash into these water bodies.

Q:  Where can I find more information about stormwater ponds in my neighborhood?

A:  Contact the Lake Worth Drainage District at 561-498-5363 or visit our website at www.lwdd.net for more information, printable resources and videos on the topic. To obtain a copy of your stormwater pond’s design and drainage system contact the South Florida Water Management District at 561-686-8800 or visit their online permit search at www.sfwmd.gov/epermitting.

standing around a street drain

Be Proactive With Drainage

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Come rain or shine, the Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD) oversees the operation and maintenance of approximately 500 miles of canals. Throughout the year LWDD operates 20 major water control structures in order to release or hold back water depending on conditions. However, effective flood control takes more than just LWDD. Property owners also have a role to play in the overall flood control system.

In South Florida, flood control is a shared responsibility and is achieved through an interconnected, three-tiered drainage system. This three-tiered system is made up of tertiary or neighborhood drainage systems operated by property owners or residential associations. Secondary drainage systems are operated by LWDD, county or municipalities, and the primary system operated by regional water management entities like the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).

The role of property owners and residential associations is like LWDD in that they manage stormwater within their property boundary. They achieve this with the use of swales and stormwater ponds. The swales and ponds provide both water quality and flood control functions. Property owners and residential associations must maintain their drainage infrastructure to ensure that swales, catch basins, underground pipes and discharge control structures are working as designed.

South Florida’s dry season runs from approximately October to May. This time of the year is ideal to conduct inspections of drainage infrastructure and make any necessary repairs. Additionally, January and April are when many residential boards hold elections and may change property management companies. LWDD requires that these changes be provided to us as soon as possible. This will ensure the correct individuals are receiving important weather alerts and flood control instructions.

As leaders in your community, do not be caught off guard with drainage failures. Be proactive during this dry season to ensure that your infrastructure is ready for the coming rains. For more information and to submit your contact information, visit www.lwdd.net/property-managers-hoa.

man with umbrella walking in rain storm

Five Ways Lightning Strikes People

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Reprint from the NOAA National Weather Service at https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-struck

It is not always possible to know exactly how a victim has been struck by lightning, but here is a list of ways that lightning strikes its victims. Any of these types of strikes can be deadly. Immediate medical attention, including calling 911, starting CPR, and using an AED, may be critically important to keep the person alive until more advanced medical care arrives.

Direct Strike

A person struck directly by lightning becomes a part of the main lightning discharge channel. Most often, direct strikes occur to victims who are in open areas. Direct strikes are not as common as the other ways people are struck by lightning, but they are potentially the deadliest. In most direct strikes, a portion of the current moves along and just over the skin surface (called flashover) and a portion of the current moves through the body–usually through the cardiovascular and/or nervous systems. The heat produced when lightning moves over the skin can produce burns, but the current moving through the body is of greatest concern. While the ability to survive any lightning strike is related to immediate medical attention, the amount of current moving through the body is also a factor.

Side Flash

A side flash (also called a side splash) occurs when lightning strikes a taller object near the victim and a portion of the current jumps from taller object to the victim. In essence, the person acts as a “short circuit” for some of the energy in the lightning discharge. A side flash generally occurs when the victim is within a foot or two of the object that is struck. Most often, side flash victims have taken shelter under a tree to avoid rain or hail.

Ground Current

When lightning strikes a tree or other object, much of the energy travels outward from the strike, in and along the ground surface. This is known as the ground current. Anyone outside near a lightning strike is potentially a victim of ground current. In addition, ground current can travel in garage floors with conductive materials. Because the ground current affects a much larger area than the other causes of lightning casualties, the ground current causes the most lightning deaths and injuries. Ground-current also kills many farm animals. Typically, lightning enters the body at the contact point closest to the lightning strike, travels through the cardiovascular and/or nervous systems, and exits the body at the contact point farthest from the lightning. The greater the distance between contact points, the greater the potential for death or serious injury. Because large farm animals have a relatively large body-span, ground current from a nearby lightning strike is often fatal to livestock.

Conduction

Lightning can travel long distances in wires or other metal surfaces. Metal does not attract lightning, but it provides a path for lightning to follow. Most indoor lightning casualties and some outdoor casualties are due to conduction. Whether inside or outside, anyone in contact with anything connected to metal wires, plumbing, or metal surfaces that extend outside is at risk. This includes anything that plugs into an electrical outlet, water faucets and showers, corded phones, and windows and doors.

Streamers

While not as common as the other types of lightning injuries, people caught in “streamers” are at risk of being killed or injured by lightning. Streamers develop as the downward-moving leader approaches the ground. Typically, only one of the streamers makes contact with the leader as it approaches the ground and provides the path for the bright return stroke; however, when the main channel discharges, so do all the other streamers in the area. If a person is part of one of these streamers, they could be killed or injured during the streamer discharge even though the lightning channel was not completed between the cloud and the upward streamer.

Carrie Parker Hill

Board Supervisors Carrie Parker Hill

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Carrie Parker HillFollowing Harry Raucher’s retirement from the Board in October 2022, Carrie Parker Hill was appointed to serve on the Board of Supervisors as an interim board member beginning November 2022. She will serve the remainder of the term for the Sub-District 4 seat which expires in January 2023. The Sub-District 4 region generally includes the area located south of Lantana Road and north of Delray West Road (W. Atlantic Avenue), between the Florida Turnpike and I-95.

Ms. Hill is a candidate for election for the Sub-District 4 seat at the Annual Landowners Meeting on January 4, 2023.

Ms. Hill is a seasoned professional with more than 40 years of experience in public sector management, specializing in coalition building, finance and budget management, and labor relations. During her distinguished career, she served as the City Manager for Boynton Beach, Village Manager for the Village of Golf, and Assistant Deputy Executive Director of Corporate Resources for the South Florida Water Management District. Ms. Hill is a University of Florida alumni where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Arts in Political Science & Public Administration.

Ms. Hill is a resident of the Delray Dunes neighborhood where she currently serves as the HOA President. She is active in the community and has served as a Board member on the Palm Beach County School Board, Arthur R. Marshall Foundation for the Everglades, and Children Services Council of Palm Beach County.