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Articles
- 2008 Montgomery County
Household Hazardous Waste pickup dates/locations
- Stormwater
Pollution Prevention: The Influence of Construction Activities. Please
click here.
- Emergency Planning
Brochure, for the Limerick, PA area -
Please click here.
- Montgomery County
Health Department 2007 West Nile Virus season information - Please
click here.
- If you are thinking
about moving to the country, you might want to consider this....
- Stormwater Management Program
(added August 30, 2005)
- Stormwater Runoff Pollution
(added June 10, 2005)
- Get to Know the
Libraries of Montgomery County
- On-Lot Septic Systems: Keeping Yours for the Long Run!
- Sewage Treatment Plants: What We Can Do To Help!
2008 MONTGOMERY COUNTY
HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE PICKUP DATES/LOCATIONS
May
3rd
Lower Makefield Corporate Center – South, 770 Township Line Road, Yardley, PA 19067 (Lower Makefield Township)
June
21st
Upper Bucks
County Area
Vocational-Technical School, 3115
Ridge Road, Perkasie, PA 19044
(Bedminster Township)
July
19th
Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, 2740 Old York Road, Jamison,
PA 18929
(Warwick Township)
August
16th
Bucks County
Technical High
School, 610 Wistar Road, Fairless
Hills, PA 19030 (Bristol
Township)
Sept.
27th
Quakertown Community Pool, 601
W. Mill Street, Quakertown, PA 18951
(Quakertown Borough)
For more
information, please click here.
IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT LIVING IN
THE COUNTRY, YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER THIS
Brochure prepared by the Lancaster County Conservation
District. Please click here.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Polluted stormwater
runoff is often transported to inlets and storm sewer systems and
ultimately discharged into local rivers and streams without treatment. The
Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established a Stormwater Management Program that is intended to
improve the nation's waterways by reducing the quantity of pollutants that stormwater picks up and carries into storm sewer
systems during storm events. Common pollutants include oil and grease from
roadways, pesticides from lawns, sediment from construction sites and
carelessly discarded trash, such as cigarette butts, paper wrappers and
plastic bottles. When deposited into nearby waterways through the storm
sewer system, these pollutants can impair the waterways, thereby
discouraging recreational use of the resource, contaminating drinking water
supplies, and interfering with the habitat for fish, or other aquatic organisms
or wildlife.
One program element is "Illicit Discharge
Detection and Elimination." This measure requires the Township to
develop a plan to detect and eliminate illicit discharges to the storm
sewer system. To complete this task, the Township is conducting inspections
of all stormwater outfalls over a four-year
period. Some examples of an illicit discharge are the following:
- Dumping
of hazardous substances such as used oil, cleaning supplies and paint
down any part of the storm sewer system.
- Soil
and other pollutants, such as debris and chemicals, leaving
construction sites in stormwater runoff.
- Connection
of your sanitary sewer lateral to the storm sewer system or effluent
from your septic tank.
- Car
wash wastewaters
- Radiator
flushing disposal
- Laundry
wastewaters
Report any discharges from stormwater
outfalls during times of dry weather - a sign that there could be a problem
with the storm sewer system.
STORMWATER RUNOFF POLLUTION
What you don’t know can hurt the
environment. When rain falls or snow melts, the seemingly negligible
amounts of chemicals and other pollutants around your home and premises get
picked up and carried via storm drains to surface waters. The
ramifications include polluted drinking water, beach closings and endangered
wildlife.
Rain by nature is important for replenishing
drinking water supplies, recreation and healthy wildlife habitats. It
only becomes a problem when pollutants from activities like car
maintenance, lawn care, construction and dog walking are left on the ground
for rain to wash away.
What can you do to protect surface and ground
waters from this type of pollution? Begin by taking a close look at
practices around your home or business that might be contributing to
polluted runoff. The following are some specific tips to help you
become part of the solution rather than part of the problem:
·
Use fertilizers sparingly and sweep up driveways, sidewalks and roads.
·
Never dump anything down storm drains.
·
Vegetate bare spots in your yard.
·
Compost your yard waste.
·
Avoid pesticides; learn about Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
·
Direct downspouts away from paved surfaces.
·
Take your car to the car wash instead of washing it in the driveway.
·
Check your car for leaks and recycle motor oil.
·
Pick up after your pet.
·
Inspect and pump your septic tank regularly.
Visit www.epa.gov/weatherchannel
for more information about what you can do, including a free brochure about
stormwater pollution.
Get to
Know the Libraries of Montgomery
County
Did you know?
... If you reside in Montgomery County,
a library card can be obtained upon proof of residency, without any charge?
... You can search the MCLINC (Montgomery County Library
Information Network) catalog and other online resources without visiting
the library?
... You can reserve materials online and pick them up at
any library in Montgomery
County or through the
Bookmobile Service?
... Any resident of Montgomery County
who is long-term housebound can request a free delivery service?
For details on these and other library services, please click here.
On-Lot
Septic Systems: Keeping Yours for the Long Run!
Your on-lot septic system is an expensive part of your property and
has certain maintenance needs. So is your well, which provides you with
safe drinking water. Many of our residents have both wells and on-lot
septic systems, and would prefer not to have public water and sewer. In the
face of continuing development, pressures will come to bear on private
systems. What can we do best to insure having the option of private
systems?
Last year the Montgomery County Department of Health began requiring
permits for all private wells drilled in the county. A few years before
this, the County took over responsibility for septic systems; prior to this
Worcester Township did its own system
monitoring. We can see by these actions how concerned the County is with
water quality and public health issues.
Although many folks think it is unnecessary, it is a good idea to have your
septic tank pumped every two years. Practically speaking, this is the only
item of maintenance the septic system requires of the homeowner. If we do
this, then we are doing what we can to keep our septic systems functioning
properly. Remember, failing septic systems invite County intervention, and
if this becomes the norm, then township-wide sewer lines and public water
may become mandatory throughout Worcester.
Sewage Treatment Plants: What We Can Do to Help!
Sewage treatment plants are an important part of every municipality.
We build them and we pay for their upkeep and operation, so it's in
everyone's best interests to be aware of what we can do to keep the plants
running efficiently.
Our sewage treatment plants are designed to process a certain number of
gallons of inflow per day. Historically, the Township has had problems
during wet weather, when excessive flows enter the plant, and we continue
to have this difficulty. Studies have shown this additional influx is clear
water, not raw sewage. This results in higher operational costs, it causes
an upset in the plant's processing of the sewage, and it could lead to Pa.
Department of Environmental Protection permit violations and fines for the
Township.
Where does this additional clear water come from? Most likely from sump
pumps, downspouts, and anything else improperly connected to the sanitary
sewer system. Occasionally residents innocently make these connections to
manage stormwater and at other times these
connections are made during construction of the home and the homeowner is
unaware of the condition. regardless, this excess of clear water these
connections carry to the sewage treatment plant results in impaired
operating conditions for the plant.
With these concerns in mind, the Township is beginning a program of
inspections to encourage sewer customers to participate in removing
connections and keeping clear water out of the sanitary sewer system. Many
sewer customers will be asked to comply with the requirements of the
program within specified time limits and correct any difficulties which are
found.
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