FOHMP template gif
Home

Preserving the Natural Environment

Neighborhood Pollution | Oil & Antifreeze | Erosion | Landscaping | Fertilizer, Herbicides & Pesticides | Litter & Waste

Neighborhood Pollution

Your neighbors include herons, beaver, otter, deer, pied-billed grebe, wood duck, a host of songbirds, and many more creatures. Their survival may depend on you and the things you do at home and in your yard.

Water from your roof and yard flows through your neighborhood and into the streams in our "watershed" - Dogue Creek, Barnyard Run and Little Hunting Creek. These creeks flow through Huntley Meadows Park and provide drinking water and living environments for wildlife. Polluted water from your household can adversely affect the health of Huntley Meadows wildlife and other inhabitants of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.

If you are living in any of the following communities, you are among those in the Huntley Meadows Park watershed:

  • Deer Run Crossing
  • Groveton Gardens
  • Hayfield
  • Huntley Estates
  • Hybla Valley
  • Kingsbrooke
  • Kingstowne
  • Lake Devereaux
  • Pinewood Lake
  • Tartan Village
  • Vantage
  • Wickford
  • Woodstone

    Back to Top

    Oil and Antifreeze

    Do:

  • Take used oil and antifreeze to a nearby service station, automotive center, or participating County recycling drop-off center.

    In Fairfax County, call 703-324-5052, TTY 1-800-828-1120 to find the nearest location that will accept used oil for recycling.

    Don't:

  • Empty used oil and antifreeze down a storm drain

    Improper disposal of oil and antifreeze can harm our parks and wildlife. One quart of oil can contaminate two million gallons of drinking water. Antifreeze can flow directly into our streams and parks and kill fish and wildlife.

    Back to Top

    Erosion

    Do:

  • Practice erosion control by landscaping your yard.
  • Take responsibility for monitoring and properly maintaining flood control lakes and ponds owned by your homeowners association to protect against erosion caused by surges of stormwater runoff.

    Heavy rains can cause erosion. Eroding topsoil can be transported from your land and deposited in streams or wetlands and smother aquatic life.

    Call the Fairfax County Department of Environmental Management (703-324-1950, TTY 703-324-1877) whenever you see erosion occurring on construction sites.

    Call the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (703-324-1460) for other erosion problems.

    Back to Top

    Landscaping

    Do:

  • Landscape your yard with trees and shrubs.

    Trees and shrubs:

  • Help reduce rapid stormwater runoff and erosion.
  • Provide valuable cover for wildlife.
  • May reduce heating and cooling needs for your home by 30 percent.
  • Require less fertilizer and fewer herbicides than grass.

    Landscaping helps stabilize the soil and minimize erosion.

    Back to Top

    Fertilizer, Herbicides and Pesticides

    Do:

  • Test your soil to determine if your lawn needs fertilizer or herbicides. Soil sampling packets are available at County Libraries and at the Fairfax County Department of Extension.
  • Use companion planting and natural pesticides in your lawn or garden if pest control is necessary.

    Don't:

  • Use chemical pesticides.
  • Overfertilize your lawn.
  • Apply fertilizer, pesticides or herbicides before a heavy rainstorm.
  • Allow fertilizer, pesticides or herbicides to spill onto driveways and sidewalks.

    If you use a lawn service company:

  • Insist on tests and a program tailored to your lawn's needs.
  • Be informed about the use of pesticides and receive a copy of the product's label.

    If chemical pesticides are used, ensure proper disposal of the product by following the label directions. Call the Fairfax County Agriculture Information Center (703-222-9760, TTY 703-222-9689) for information.

    Back to Top

    Litter and Wastes

    Do:

  • Recycle glass and plastic bottles, aluminum cans and newspapers.
  • Dispose of litter properly.
  • Help keep street gutters and storm drains free of litter.
  • Clean-up pet wastes and dispose of in household garbage.

    Don't:

  • Buy non-recyclable plastic containers if you can buy returnable or cardboard containers.
  • Throw leaves, yard debris or trash down storm drains.
  • Allow pet wastes to be washed into storm drains.

    Call the Virginia Department of Transportation (703-631-9611, TTY 1-800-828-1120) to report clogged storm sewers in the right-of-way or the Fairfax County Department of Public Works (703-246-2406, TTY 1-800-828-1120) to report clogged storm sewers maintained by the County.

    Call the Fairfax County Recycling Infoline (703-324-5052, TTY 1-800-828-1120) for information on the recycling drop-off center nearest you.

    Back to Top

    • Membership Information
    Visiting the Park
    Species Lists
    More Park Information
    Park Gallery
    News & Events
    Recent Wildlife Sightings
    Conservation
    Links
    Contact Us