Watersheds - Why In-Land Homes Cause Nitrogen Pollution

At FISM, we often hear, “I don’t live directly on the coast, so how does my fertilizer use affect marine ecosystems?” We understand why people ask this - the bottom line is that homeowners who do not live on the coast can still live in watersheds that feed into coastal and oceanic waterbodies.

Even if you live far from the ocean, your home fertilizer use and nitrogen runoff from your septic tank will always drain into a body of water. This body of water could be a pond, creek, lake, river, estuary, etc. Eventually, these bodies of water channel to outflow points such as reservoirs, bays, and the ocean. This flowing of water to its eventual end location is called a watershed.

You can visualize watersheds as Matryoshka dolls - a larger watershed contains smaller watersheds!

Watersheds are a bit like Matryoshka dolls - big watersheds contain smaller watersheds that, in turn, contain even smaller watersheds. Everything that occurs in the smaller watersheds affects the larger ones. All water from precipitation, melting ice, and even water that we cannot see - groundwater - flow according to their watershed. No matter where you live, you are in a watershed. The Fishers Island watershed drains into the much larger watershed of Long Island Sound.

The Long Island Sound watershed struggles with persistent nitrogen overloads leading the eutrophic areas. Eutrophication occurs in areas where nutrients overwhelm the ecosystem, which encourages the encroachment of invasive species and algal blooms. It creates low-oxygen areas that lead to unsafe water conditions and massive fish kills - these fish kills are not just bad for the ecosystem and fisheries. They also stink!

Luckily, the solution to excess nitrogen runoff is simple, and it starts with you - apply less fertilizer at the appropriate times, consider natural alternatives such as composting and clover-mixed lawns, and plant native to ensure you will not be tempted to use fertilizer to help your garden establish and thrive. Be part of the solution to protect the Long Island Sound watershed and learn more about what you can do to help!