During any yard cleanup, people should remember not to dump their yard waste into any waterway or wetland. The dumping applies to any river or wetland and can have very bad consequences.

Whether it's in the spring when homeowners, renters, and professional yardmen are hastening to rake up last fall's leaves and cut back deadwood to encourage the new growth that has started to push through the earth or it's during the great fall cleanup, any time is a good time to remember that none of those raked leaves and collected clippings should find their way into any waterway or wetland. And property owners should let anyone who works with them or for them know that this material should not be blown or dumped into any river, pond, or wetland. No matter which waterway or wetland is a dumping target, dumping in those sensitive areas can have serious consequences.

1. Excess leaves can clog culverts, fill ponds or the backside of a dam, and make the river shallower and more prone to flooding or the need for expensive dredging.

2. Shallower waterways and ponds make the water warmer, thereby discouraging fish and encouraging unsightly algal blooms.

3. Excess leaves can produce organic loading and create an organic imbalance. As insects work to process the material, they expel nutrients that overenrich downstream ponds and Long Island Sound, cause algal blooms, and deplete oxygen - sometimes causing fish kills.

4. Repeated dumping into a watercourse or wetland over a period of time without a permit is considered filling and can incur a fine from the local Inland Wetland Board.

5. Besides increasing environmental problems, dumping leaves - instead of composting them or broadcasting them into woodlands to decompose naturally - eliminates a source of rich soil beneficial to gardens and healthy landscapes.

Some leaves will fall naturally, of course, into rivers and wetlands, but it's important not to concentrate the accumulation, overload the systems, or create an imbalance. Proper disposal of leaves - by composting or broadcasting into woodlands - is one easy way for each person to make a difference to our important waterways and wetlands. For more information, people may contact their local Conservation Commission, Inland Wetlands Board, or NRWA at info@norwalkriver.org.

More: Improve your soil by raking less (PDF)