Residents unclear on county's fertilizer ordinance

EAST COUNTY — For River Club resident Gordon Harrison, the retention pond in his backyard and the bank around it should look as pristine as his own yard.

The grass around Harrison’s pond stays neatly trimmed.

“We like it to look nice over here,” Harrison said.

But for Dorian Morgan, the sight evokes a feeling of concern.

While homeowners typically view the ponds as community aesthetics, their primary purpose is controlling stormwater and preventing flooding. Morgan can’t help but think of the impact the clippings and stormwater runoff have on the environment.

As grass breaks down in the water, it naturally releases the phosphorous and nitrogen it contains, as well as fertilizers absorbed while it was alive.

“(It’s) like dumping a bag of fertilizer into it,” she said of grass clippings falling into the water.

Morgan, director of research and social marketing for Uppercase, the Tampa-based public relations firm hired to educate residents about Manatee County’s fertilizer ordinance, has been working to educate River Club and Lakewood Ranch residents about the ordinance and about behaviors that affect water quality and a pond’s health.

For example, she encourages residents to blow grass clippings from the street into their yards and to leave a buffer zone between the lake and where fertilizer is applied.

Earlier this month, Morgan received the results of a survey residents completed in October about their knowledge of the county’s fertilizer ordinance, which starts June 1.

Six hundred homeowners responded to the survey.

Overall, the answers reflected that residents still feel unsure about the specifics of the phosphorous- and nitrogen-banning fertilizer ordinance (See sidebar).

Asked when phosphorous was banned from fertilizers, 72% of responders marked an incorrect answer.

Sixty-five percent of surveyed individuals didn’t know the dates nitrogen-containing fertilizers are banned (June 1 through Sept. 30).

The survey also found that residents typically don’t apply their own fertilizer. Eleven percent of the individuals perform their own landscaping, which shows that residents and landscape professionals must work together to comply with the ordinance, said Rob Brown, the divisional manager for the county parks and natural resources’ environmental protection division.

“It’s really up to both the homeowner and the landscape professional,” Brown said. “How many homeowners are doing landscaping themselves versus how many use landscape professionals? Not many.”

In preparation for the enforcement of the fertilizer ordinance, Morgan, along with University of Florida representative Emily Ott, posted signs, held information sessions and hosted tours of retention ponds to educate residents in summer 2012.

No tours or information sessions have been held with the residents since 2012 — something Morgan hopes to improve. She plans to host more outreach initiatives once she finishes compiling reports of survey responses.

During her next trip into the communities, Morgan also plans to incorporate information on the benefits of planting plants near stormwater ponds.

The plants would serve as a buffer between residents’ lawns and the ponds, Morgan said. But, she said, some residents say plants block their view of the water.

“It’s a sticky subject,” Morgan said.

Summer fertilizer ban takes effect
Residents of Manatee County will have limited options when it comes to lawn care once the county’s blackout dates for certain fertilizers take effect June 1.

The county’s fertilizer ordinance prohibits using nitrogen-based fertilizers from June 1 through Sept. 30.

Residents and businesses also are banned year-round from using fertilizers containing phosphorous.

Additionally, fertilizer cannot be applied within 10 feet of the water’s edge.

The ordinance is meant to prevent fertilizer from washing into retention ponds and later into the Tampa Bay, particularly during Florida’s rainy season.

The nitrogen and phosphorous found in grass clippings and in fertilizer can cause algae blooms or have harmful effects on ponds and water systems.

“The (grass) roots absorb nutrients and the nutrients are produced in grass blades. If you shoot them into pond, they degrade and release nutrients, which are harmful to fish,” said Ron Brown, divisional manager for the county parks and natural resources’ environmental protection division.

The county also requires landscapers to be certified to apply fertilizers in Manatee.

For more information, visit mymanatee.org.

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].