A lot of poop

by Doug Moran
I love my dog, Minnie. Heck, we all love our dogs. But did you know that our dogs deposit about 120,000 tons of poop a year? That’s 240,000,000 lbs a year!
Minnesota has about 900,000 dogs. And between them all, they poop about .73 lbs per day!
All this poop contributes about 20% of the bacteria found in our lakes, rivers and streams,   and spreads nasty stuff like Giardia and Salmonella! In fact dog poop is the 3rd largest source of bacterial pollution in urban watersheds!
That’s not all! The nitrogen and phosphorus found in dog poop also raises havoc by fertilizing algae and other things which deplete the oxygen aquatic wildlife needs to survive.
So take these 3  simple steps to reduce the impact of dog poop in our waterways!

1. Always carry poop bags with you, in fact, take extra bags so you don’t run out, or so you can help others
2. Make sure your poop bags end up in the garbage can, not left in parks or trails!
3. And pick it up when your dog poops in your yard.

It’s easy, and it will make a difference.  Thanks to Cleanwater.org for providing the info for this post!

Editor's Note:  Doug Moran is a TCTU Board Member and our self-appointed Poop Czar.  He is the number one advocate for solving the number 2 problem.