Hamilton Co. Soil & Water Conservation District - Blog

Its time for the 2018 Rain Barrel Art Project. The Rain Barrel Art Project desires to educate people on environmental issues like storm water runoff, watersheds and water conservation. Rain barrels can be beautiful works of art that conserve water and save money.  So here's how it works. If you are interested in painting a rain barrel, please  Click here to register . Artwork entries will be accepted until January 22. The top 40 entries will be selected by the end of January. All artists chosen to paint a rain barrel must attend a mandatory artist workshop at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden on February 10th. Then its time to have fun! Paint your rain barrel, then get it to the zoo for the display in the Go Green! Garden from April 1 - April 19.  All rain barrels will be auctioned at the Cincinnati Zoo's Party For The Planet on Thursday, April 19th. For more information on the rain barrel art project, please  click here  or call  John  at (513) 772-7645

Hamilton County Public Health has graciously created a brochure for homeowners that want to rid of mosquitoes in their yards. Click here to see more information on the brochure.

Pharmaceuticals and by-products of personal care products are the top contaminants of emerging water quality concerns. According to the Alliance for the Great Lakes, studies have found a 70% increase of these contaminants in all streams over the past five years. Sources could include home septic systems, combined sewer overflows, manufacturing facilities, failing sewers and municipal sludge application to land. Pharmaceuticals are an $80 billion industry. Half of the antibiotics used are for livestock. Manure is then applied to the land. Bacteria are the work horses of streams; breaking down pollutants. Exposure to antibiotics  can kill the bacteria. Eventually, forms of bacteria will develop that are resistant to the antibiotics. This resistance can then be transferred to humans.  What can we do? Help educate your friends and family to never flush unused pharmaceutical drugs. Take them to a recycling site – see http://rxdrugdropbox.org/ Personal Ca