Clean water is truly a blessing and a valuable resource. Being good stewards of water involves caring for both surface and ground waters in the environment and our drinking water.

Let’s explore how we can be better stewards of water in our environment.

Water in our Environment

Caring for the water around us requires an understanding that many of our day-to-day activities and practices potentially impact water. All of our water is connected, meaning that what do on land impacts surface and ground waters, which we use for drinking and other purposes. This characteristic of water stresses the need for better stewardship.  We impact water quality in many ways. For example, driving a car can release petroleum products and microplastics on the street, which wash into waterways; using deicing salts in winter contaminates both surface and ground water; the cleaners and personal care products we use go down the drain to our wastewater treatment plants or septic systems, where only a portion of these contaminants are broken down; the fertilizer and pesticides used in our lawns enter waterways, and even washing our cars can introduce contaminants to surface waters. And there are other impacts as well. The good news is that we all can make relatively easy changes to reduce our impact. Conserving water, choosing safer cleaners (https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice), reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, recycling old containers of chemicals, paint, and so on.  Also consider volunteering at local environmental efforts such as litter collection or recycling efforts.  Together we can make small changes that have a big impact on our shared waters. 

Written By: Andrew Lazur, University of Maryland Extension