Attack of the Pet Waste!

Pick up your pet's waste and throw it in the

 garbage to keep our water clean.

Pet waste is a major threat to our streams, lakes, and coastal waters, but you can help! It's easy - simply bag it and trash it when you're out with your pet. To be sure it stays out of our water, throw the bag into a nearby trash can.

Effects of Pet Waste

It's easy to forget to clean up after your pet when they do their dooty, but pet waste in our water can have nasty consequences for the animals that live there and for us! Pet waste in our water can:

- Close waterways to recreation, such as swimming, boating, and fishing, due to high levels of bacteria.

- Cause large amounts of algae and weeds to grow, making the water murky and harmful to aquatic life.

- Use up oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive, causing fish kills.

How does your pet waste get to the waterway in the first place?

Bacteria from pet waste left on the side of a roadway or in the grass, can be picked up by runoff when it rains or when the snow melts. The runoff carries the pest waste and bacteria into local water bodies. This can happen even if the pet waste has been put in a bag first. Unfortunately, storm drains have become a common dumping ground for pet waste. Not only does this lead to clogged storm drain systems (and street and parking lot flooding), but many of the storm drains empty into nearby rivers and streams without being treated first! Pet waste should never be thrown into a storm drain, bagged or not.

The Solution?

The solution is easy! When you're out with your pet, remember to bag it and trash it into a nearby trash receptacle. Scoop the poop and keep it out of our water!

Casco Bay, Portland, ME