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Stormwater
30 S. Nevada Avenue, Suite 502
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Phone: 719-385-5980
Fax: 719-385-5095
Contact: Stormwater
Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm




City of Colorado Springs / Stormwater / Hazardous Waste Management / Pesticides and Fertilizers

Pesticides and Fertilizers

What you need to know about pesticides and fertilizers.....


We all live downstream!

Many of our cities have been built around waterways, for obvious reasons. Everything living needs water to survive. Therefore, the quality of our water is critical!

What we put on our lawns and down our drains eventually finds its way back to our creeks. Wastewater goes to a wastewater treatment plant, but the plant may not remove all the pesticides and fertilizers that were put down a household drain. Those products that are not removed are discharged into a stream.

Pesticides and fertilizers applied outdoors may be washed away with stormwater ? the runoff from rain or snow. Runoff, which does not go through a treatment process, is conveyed to storm sewers and takes a direct path to a stream like Monument or Fountain Creek.

When products like pesticides and fertilizers find their way into natural waterways, public health and wildlife habitats can be at serious risk. So, use the guidelines on this web page and see how you can help keep our streams clean.

  • Never pour pesticides or fertilizers down the drain or storm sewer.

  • Do you really need it? Is there an alternative? Call the agencies listed on this web page for treatment suggestions.

  • Buy only the quantity you think you will use and use during the right time of the season.

  • Read directions and follow precisely. Do not overuse or over apply.

  • Leave grass clippings on the lawn. Clippings fertilize the grass naturally and do not cause thatch in Colorado.

  • Rinse the pesticide container and apply the rinses to the target area.

  • Store and dispose of pesticides and fertilizers properly. Do not store materials outdoors and exposed to precipitation.


To report illegal spills or dumping:

City of Colorado Springs, Police and Fire Dispatcher (719) 444-7000.

For further information, please contact:

City of Colorado Springs, Stormwater Drainage, http://www.springsgov.com/stormwater (719) 385-5980

Colorado Springs Utilities, Xeriscape Office, http://www.csu.org/residential/greenback/water/xeriscape/item1123.html (pesticide/plant alternatives) (719) 448-4555

Colorado Springs Utilities, http://www.csu.org/residential/services/wastewater/improvements/item1063.html (industrial discharges to the treatment plant) (719) 448-4360

El Paso County, Solid Waste Management, http://adm.elpasoco.com/Environmental%20Division/Household%20Hazardous%20Waste/Pages/default.aspx  (719) 520-7878

Colorado State University Cooperative Extension (pesticide alternatives) (719) 636-8921