Alachua County waters are not meeting standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, so the county is implementing a fertilizer ban to improve them, a county official said.
Beginning today, a new ordinance will ban the landscaping use of fertilizers that contain nitrogen or phosphorous until February 2017, said Stacie Greco, the conservation coordinator for the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department.
The Alachua County Commission adopted the ban on May 24, according to a county press release. It will be re-implemented every winter, Greco said.
Sally Adkins, the program coordinator for the Gainesville Clean Water Partnership, said the problem comes from the excess nutrients these types of fertilizers bring to water sources in the winter.
Gus Olmos, the water resource manager for the county’s EPD, said the fertilizers’ chemicals have infiltrated Alachua County’s streams, rivers and ponds.
“It affects everybody,” Olmos said. “During the winter, the turf goes dormant, so it doesn’t take any nutrients. Whatever you’re putting there is not doing any good for your lawn.”
Residents can still garden and farm with these fertilizers, Greco said. Manure is an effective alternative for landscaping.
As for code violators, the county will be lenient, Olmos said.
“The code does provide for civil citations,” Olmos said. “With a new code, we won’t go that route to begin.”
