{"id":3180,"date":"2018-02-20T08:40:48","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T14:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rctc.edu\/echo\/?p=3180"},"modified":"2025-02-11T14:14:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T20:14:24","slug":"picking-up-litter-improves-water-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/picking-up-litter-improves-water-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"Picking up litter improves water quality"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lydia Hansen
\n<\/b>Editor-in-chief\n<\/p>\n

Everyone knows littering is bad. But why?<\/p>\n

\"Plastic\u201cWhat may seem like a trash disposal shortcut is actually a contributing factor in water pollution and environmental degradation,\u201d said Mark Faas, RCTC\u2019s Physical Plant and Facilities Director. Deteriorating water quality on campus grounds is a problem he\u2019s working to counteract.<\/p>\n

Faas heads a committee of groundskeepers and faculty members working to maintain and preserve water quality in the four storm water ponds on campus grounds. The ponds are legally identified as municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4\u2019s), making it RCTC\u2019s responsibility to meet quality standards and combat pollution throughout the grounds drainage system.<\/p>\n

To date, RCTC has maintained acceptable levels of water quality.<\/p>\n

While compliance with state and Federal regulations is partly responsible for the committee\u2019s efforts, Faas also said that it\u2019s part of a larger goal to maintain campus excellence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re an educational institution. We should be on the forefront of things. We should be exceptional.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the primary sources of pollution Faas identified is the sand and salt applied to slippery roads and parking lots. Spring thaws and runoff from melting snow cause these to collect in concentrated levels in the campus ponds.<\/p>\n

Additionally, rainfall throughout the year washes pesticides, herbicides, and any trash or litter dumped on roadsides or dropped on the ground into the ponds. This increases the concentration of nutrients like nitrogen or phosphorus as well as harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n

Several methods are employed to counteract and monitor this pollution. Frequent testing provides data on current pollutant levels. Drainage through various inlets and outlets is also closely monitored to prevent flooding or stagnation.<\/p>\n

Faas emphasized the importance of education and student participation in improving storm water quality on campus grounds as part of achieving excellence.<\/p>\n

\"Mark\u201cIf we can get students involved and take ownership, I think we can get so much more done,\u201d Faas said.<\/p>\n

After byproducts of grounds maintenance methods, the second greatest source of pollutants is student-generated waste. Engine fluids from leaky vehicles or simple trash can cause major problems once they enter the ponds. That impact is not easy or simple to remedy.<\/p>\n

The simplest fix, then, is prevention, which means realizing the greater environmental impact of every piece of litter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that you pick up your garbage,\u201d Faas said. \u201cWatch what you\u2019re throwing out of your car. If you see something, pick it up. It goes a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parking lot litter and grounds maintenance byproducts contribute to built up pollutant levels on campus storm water ponds. Want to help fix that? Start by picking up your garbage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}