Watersheds: Lake Friendly Lawn & Garden Care
All of us having the privilege of owning a residence near a lake or river are a part of a watershed: the area of land from which the surface and groundwater flows into a common body of water. 
How we tend our lawns and gardens impacts the quality of these waters. Simply put, caring for our watershed is caring for our lake.
How we can help…
We can help our watershed by understanding that we are part of the solution to water quality problems: our actions affect the water and environment around us. Keeping lawns & gardens healthy is beneficial to the water quality of our lake.
Lake-Friendly Lawn & Garden Care Tips
Don’t P on Your Lawn!
Use “P”-Free lawn fertilizers. “P” stands for phosphorus, one of the most troublesome pollutants in water runoff that goes into our lake. Phosphorus comes from many sources, and it is the primary cause of water quality problems in our waterways. Phosphorus is also a common nutrient found in most lawn and garden fertilizers. When fertilizers run off from lawns into lakes, they feed unsightly, smelly toxic blue-green algal blooms.
Where do I find phosphorus-free fertilizers? Most home improvement stores and landscape nurseries carry them. Look for the middle number on fertilizers bags to see the N-P-K nutrient analysis. The middle number is the phosphate (phosphorus) content. A “zero” in the middle means it is phosphorus-free.
Make the switch and use phosphorus-free fertilizers in your yard. Doing so will help reduce the algal growth in our waterways, while still maintaining that beautiful lawn.
Use fertilizers only as needed.
I firmly believe that we are over-fertilizing our gardens and lawns. Over fertilizing is both harmful to our lawns and harmful to our lakes.
Have your soil tested.
If you want to learn more about your lawn’s nutrient content, pH level and organic content, have it tested. Most lawns have enough phosphorus (P) and only need nitogen (N). In fact, in many parts of the country, lawns tested showed excessive levels of phosphorus. In the Lake Murray area, we can have soil tested by the Clemson University Extensions office*.
Control weeds without chemicals.
Proper lawn care is the best form of weed control. A healthy lawn gives the grass advantage over the weeds, crowding them out.
Plant natural vegetation in the shoreline buffer zone.
“A shoreline buffer acts as nature’s own septic system “ – an inexpensive and effective way to help treat runoff from your property in the watershed. By planting natural vegetation in the buffer area along the lakeshore, you will help the quality of the lake water by soaking up rainfall and reducing run-off. A well planted buffer zone will also retain sediments, protecting the shoreline and reducing erosion.
Water your lawn with lake water.
Lake water contains nutrients your lawn needs. By using lake water, your lawn and gardens (including any shoreline plantings) will help filter out those nutrients that contribute to lake eutrophication, and return to the water to the lake with the phosphorous filtered out.
We are indeed aware of how lucky we are to live on the lake. We are living the dream. But with that dream comes the responsibility of doing everything possible to help our lake remain healthy and as clean as possible. By making changes in how we care for our lawns and gardens, we are contributing to the water quality of our lakes and rivers. Water that is fun and safe to swim in, to live by, and to enjoy – for generations to come.
