08/04/2004 

Another Voice: Blowin' in The Wind
My inspiration for writing this was a picture on page 8 of the June 23^rd edition of The Times. The picture features a lawn contractor blowing grass clippings into a gutter on the corner of North Pierce and Willow Streets. 

I would like to take a moment to remind residents and lawn contractors that in November 1997, the Consolidated Government adopted an ordinance making it illegal to blow or sweep yard waste and other trash into gutters, storm drains or the street. Many citizens incorrectly assume that the yard waste pushed out into the street will wash down into the sanitary sewer system. Instead of going to the wastewater treatment plants, the yard waste is forced into storm drain pipes, caught in ditches and piled up in coulees which can cause flooding during large rain events. The debris, eventually, will be pushed out into the Vermilion River. Once in the river, as organic debris begins to decompose, it deprives the water of precious oxygen used by fish and other small aquatic creatures. This in turn can cause fish kills and anaerobic decomposition which leads to the foul smell some have come to associate with the Vermilion. 

The Bayou Vermilion is often not safe for swimming and the oxygen levels too often fall to suffocatingly low levels. The reasons for these impairments are not industrial, nor are they municipal sewer plants. The groups most responsible for polluting our bayous and coulees in Lafayette Parish are home owners and small businesses. One of the more difficult tasks of the Bayou Vermilion District is getting people to recognize the effect they have on the water quality throughout Lafayette, and in understanding how our watershed functions.

The BVD has a saying, “For a clean river, just add clean water”. I told this to a concerned citizen one day and he smiled and said, “Well, yea. That’s kind of obvious. But how are you going to first clean the water that’s in the river?”

I explained to him that the river’s normal velocity is to flow south at about one cubic foot per second. The river flows about thirty-three miles through Lafayette Parish. This means that the water in the Vermilion River is completely replaced every forty-eight hours. We do not have to clean the water in the river. We just have to clean the water we put into it and in two days time we could have a clear, clean, pristine river perfect for swimming and fishing.   

Easier said than done, you say? Yes, but it definitely can be done. Restoring our waterways will take changes in they way we all do things. For instance, let’s go back to our grass in the gutter problem. Instead of disposing of yard waste in the street and storm drains, mow your grass with the blade set higher so that no more than 1/3 of the blade is clipped at one time. Mowing too closely encourages shallow roots, making your lawn susceptible to damage by drought. Taller grass also shades the soil, reducing water loss and soil loss. Leave the short grass clippings on your lawn. By doing so, valuable nutrients will be recycled back into your lawn at no cost to you. If you must remove grass clipping from your lawn, use a grass catcher on the back of your lawn mower or gather up the clippings, leaves, etc. and place it all in a yard bag. 

If you want to learn how to change other bad habits give us a call at 237-8360, visit our web site www.bayouvermilion.org, or email to kerry@bayouvermilion.org. 

Kerry Collins
Executive Director
Lafayette Parish Bayou Vermilion District