Town of Flower Mound, Texas

2121 Cross Timbers Road
Flower Mound, Texas 75028
972.874.6000

For service requests or questions, email
townhall@flower-mound.com
or call 972.539.SERV. After hours, please call 972.539.0525.

Environmental Resources

Storm Water

Residential Car Washing

Outdoor car washing that uses detergent-rich water can flow down the street and into the storm drain. This water may contain high amounts of nutrients, metals, and hydrocarbons that storm water does not need. According to the Center for Watershed Protection, between 70 and 90 percent of United States residents reported that their car wash water drained directly into the street and possibly to the nearest stream. Below are several items to remember when washing your vehicle.

Wash your car on gravel, grass, or any other surface with good permeability.
You can block off the storm drain using an insert to catch car wash water.
If pumping water into a sanitary sewer drain is not possible, try to pump the water onto grass or a landscaping area for filtration.
Use hoses that have nozzles that automatically turn off when left unattended.
Use only biodegradable soaps.

Erosion Control - Mulching

Mulching is a temporary erosion control practice in which materials such as grass, hay, wood chips, wood fibers, straw, or gravel are placed on exposed or recently planted soil surfaces. Mulching is highly recommended as a stabilization method and is most effective when used in combination with vegetation establishment. Mulching can stabilize soils, and reduce storm water runoff velocity. Listed below are tips for mulching and types of materials to use.

• Straw Material
Straw has a rate per/acre of 1-2 tons. Straw mulch should be dry, unchopped, and unweathered. It is important to avoid weeds. When mulching, spread by hand or machine. Light material like straw needs to be anchored down. This can be accomplished by applying a tackifier, stapling netting over the top, or crimping with a mulch crimping tool.

• Wood Fiber or Wood Cellulose
Wood materials have a rate per/acre of ½ - 1 tons. There are not any specific requirements wood materials have to meet. Use a hydroseeder with wood fiber or cellulose. Make sure wood materials are free of any loose substances. Do not use wood in hot, dry weather.

• Wood Chips
Wood chips have a rate per/acre of 5-6 tons. You should air dry and add fertilizer to wood chips. Look at the fertilizer and make sure it is 12lb/ton. When applying wood chips, use with a blower, chop handler, or by hand. Wood chips are not for fine turf areas.

• Bark
Bark has a rate per/acre of 35 yd2. Bark should be air dried. When applying bark, do so with a mulch blower, chip handler, or by hand. Do not use asphalt tack to anchor down the bark.

Mulches must be anchored to resist wind displacement. Netting should be removed when protection is no longer needed and disposed of in a landfill or composted. Mulch areas should be inspected regularly to identify areas where mulch has loosened or been removed. Inspections should be routine until vegetation is firmly established.

Erosion Control - Sodding

Sodding is a permanent form of erosion control that involves laying a permanent cover of grass sod on exposed soils. In addition to stabilizing soils, sodding can reduce the velocity of storm water runoff. Sodding can provide immediate vegetative cover for critical areas and stabilize areas that cannot be vegetated by seed. It can also steady channels or swales that convey concentrated flows and can reduce flow velocities. Listed below are several practices and considerations involving sodding.

Pick sod that is composed of plants that are adapted to site conditions where you plan to lay the sod.
Composition should reflect environmental conditions as well as the function of the area where sod will be laid.
Sod should be of known genetic origin and free of noxious weeds, diseases, and insects.
Sod should be machine cut at a uniform soil thickness of 15-25mm at the time of establishment.
Sod should be laid in striped perpendicular to the direction of water flow and staggered in a brick-like pattern.
Jute or plastic netting may be pegged over sod for further protection against washout.
Areas to be sodded should be cleared of trash, debris, roots, branches, stones, and clod larger than two inches in diameter.
Sod should be harvested, delivered, and installed within a 36 hour period. If it cannot meet any of these criteria in the time frame, it should be inspected.
Sod is more expensive and more difficult to acquire, transport, and store than seed. Care should be taken to provide adequate moisture to the soil before, during, and after installation. If the sod is laid on poorly prepared soil, the grass will die quickly.

Hazardous Materials

Storing hazardous materials properly in a house is extremely important in keeping a healthy environment. Proper storage will decrease the probability that the materials will end up in local waterways. Many households have hazardous materials stored throughout their homes, especially in garages and sheds. Below are several tips to ensure safety.

• Keep products out of the reach of children and pets. Do not put them in a place where there is an increased risk of spilling.
• Store materials in containers that are recommended by the manufacturer. Keep them away from other types of chemicals and in a cool, well-ventilated area to reduce vapor buildup.
• Inspect the containers daily. Always make sure that they are labeled clearly and that the containers are undamaged.
• Make certain that containers are sealed to prevent spills.
• When looking over storage areas, be sure to check for leaks, poor ventilation, and the smell of fumes.
• Make sure shelves are made of corrosion-resistant materials. It’s a good idea to store containers in corrosion-resistant trays also.

Hazardous Materials – Homemade Alternatives

Below is a list of “recipes” that substitute for many of the hazardous products in your household. These “recipes” provide you with safe alternatives.

Cleaning Substitutes:

All-Purpose Cleaner
• Vinegar and salt
Mix together for a good surface cleaner.
• Baking Soda
Dissolve 4 tablespoons of baking soda in 1 quart of warm water. Putting baking soda on a damp sponge will also work.

Cleaner

• Soap
Regular cleaning with plain soap and hot water will kill some bacteria.
• Dry Areas
Mold, mildew, and bacteria cannot live without damp conditions.
• Borax
Mix ½ cup of Borax into 1 gallon of hot water. You can clean with this solution.

Drain Cleaner

• Prevention
To avoid clogging you drain, use a drain strainer to trap food particles and hair. Collect grease in cans instead of pouring it down your drain. Pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain weekly to melt fat buildup in your drain.
• Baking soda and vinegar
Put ½ cup of baking soda and ½ cup of white vinegar down your drain and cover the drain. Let it set for a few minutes, then pour boiling water down the drain to flush it.

Furniture Polish

• Olive oil and vinegar
Mix 3 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar. Apply and polish with a clean, soft cloth.
• Olive oil and lemon juice
Mix 2 parts oil and 1 part lemon juice. Apply and polish with a soft cloth.
• Water spots
To remove water marks from furniture, rub gently with toothpaste on a damp cloth

Lime and Mineral Deposit Remover

• Vinegar
Hard lime deposits around faucets can be softened for easy removal by covering the deposits with vinegar soaked paper towels. Leave the paper towels on for approximately one hour before cleaning. To remove deposits which may be clogging metal showerheads, combine ½ cup of white vinegar to 1 quart of water. Completely submerge the showerhead and boil for 15 minutes. If you own a plastic showerhead, combine 1 pint of white vinegar and 1 pint of hot water. Completely submerge the showerhead and soak for an hour.

Pest Removal

Ants

• Flour and borax
Mix 1 cup flour and 2 cups Borax in a quart jar. Punch holes in the jar lid and sprinkle contents around the house foundation.
• Pennyroyal, spearmint, southernwood and tansy
Growing these plants around the border of your home will deter ants and aphids.

Fleas

• Vinegar
A ratio of 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1 quart of water (per 40lbs. of pet weight) in their drinking water helps keep you pet free of fleas and ticks. This does not mean that you should stop giving your dogs flea and heartworm medication prevention from your local veterinarian.

Roaches

• Borax and flour
Mix ½ cup Borax and ¼ cup of flour and fill jar. Punch holes in jar lid and sprinkle contents where needed.

Landscaping and Lawn Care

Lawns produce a significant amount of nutrient-rich storm water runoff, and research shows that such runoff can potentially cause eutrophication in streams, lakes, and estuaries. Pesticide runoff can contaminate drinking water supplies with chemicals toxic to both humans and aquatic life. Many lawn owners are unaware to content of phosphorous and nitrogen in their fertilizer. Taking proper care of lawns is important to the town. Below are several lawn care tips.

Improve your soil by mixing peat moss or compost into the soil before planting. This helps the soil to retain water. You can use terraces and retaining walls to reduce water run-off from sloped yards.
Choosing your plant selection is important. Try and choose a low-water-using flower, tree, shrub, and groundcover. Many of these plants need watering only in the first year.
Limit the amount of grass area. Try to plant groundcovers, indigenous plants, or slow-growing, drought tolerant vegetation. If replanting lawns, use drought-tolerant grass seed mixes.
Install water efficient drip or trickle irrigation system.
Use a 3-inch-deep layer of mulch, such as pine needles, shredded leaves, or bark. Mulch will keep soil moist, prevent erosion, and smother weeds.

Litter Prevention

Cigarette Butts The “Don’t Mess with Texas” program began in 1986. Texans and Flower Mound residents should pride themselves on keeping a clean environment. Below are several interesting facts that should be considered.

Littering in the State of Texas had decreased by 33 percent since 2000 but one in two Texans still admits to littering.
Tobacco trash, such as cigarette butts, is the most prominent form of litter found on Texas roads. Twenty three percent of Texans admit to throwing their cigarette butts out the window. It is important to note that cigarette butts can take up to 20 years to decompose because of the plastic filters.
Twenty percent of all litter on Texas roads is food related.
Litter can harm wildlife. Plastic six-pack rings can choke animals and small items like gum or cigarettes are also a choking hazard.
You can be fined up to $500 for littering in Texas.
Forty six percent of Texas residents believe that inmates are responsible for cleaning up roadside trash. Only six percent could identify that paid contractors, which your tax dollars are paying for, are responsible for cleanup.
If every litterer in Texas picked up at least six pieces of trash a month, the highways would be litter free.

Below is a chart that shows the decomposition time for various types of litter:

Object	Decomposition Time
Styrofoam container	> 1 million years
Plastic jug	1 million years
Aluminum can	200-500 years
Disposable diaper	550 years
Tinned can	90 years
Leather shoe	45 years
Wool sock	1 year
Paper bag	1 month
Banana peel	3-4 weeks

Pest Management

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an environmentally safe approach to pest management. IPM uses the current life cycles of pests and how they interact with their environment. This approach can be applied to both agricultural and nonagricultural settings. There are many methods of IPM, including the following practices.

Mulching helps prevent weeds where turf is absent. Fencing helps keep out rodents. Netting helps keep out birds and insects away from fruit and leaves.
Insects can be removed by hand (using gloves or tweezers) and placed in soapy water or vegetable oil. Alternatively, insects can be sprayed off the plant with water or in some cases vacuumed off of larger plants.
Store-bought traps can be used, such as species-specific, pheromone-based traps or colored sticky cards.
Sprinkling the ground with abrasive diatomaceous earth can prevent infestations of soft-bodied insects and slugs. Slugs also can be trapped in small cups filled with beer set in the ground.
In cases where bacteria, fungi, or other microscopic organisms are damaging plants, the affected plant material can be removed. Pruning equipment should be disinfected with bleach to prevent the spreading of organisms.
Small mammals and birds can be excluded using fences, netting, and tree trunk guards.

Pet Waste

When pet waste is not properly disposed of, it can be picked up by storm water runoff and washed into storm drains or nearby water bodies. Not all storm drains connect to water treatment facilities, so animal feces can end up in streams, rivers, and lakes. When pet waste starts to decay, it consumes oxygen and releases ammonia gas. This combination is deadly to fish and other aquatic life. Pet waste carries bacteria, viruses, and parasites that are harmful to the heath of humans and wildlife. Here is how you can help.

When walking your dog, always bring plastic bags with you. Use the plastic bag to pick up the dog waste. Tie the bag close and put the bag in the trash.
To properly dispose your pets waste at home, there are two options.
- Trash → Double bag dog waste and kitty litter, tie the bag closed, and put it in the garbage. Long-handle “pooper scoopers” are available at any pet store. This will make it much easier for you to pick up pet waste in your yard.
- Flush It → Flush the pet waste down the toilet if you are on a sewer system. (It is important to note that if you are on a septic system DO NOT flush pet waste down the toilet). DO NOT flush kitty litter.

Tips for Bagging:

Keep a supply of bags where you keep your pet supplies.
Reuse old bags like plastic newspaper bags, bread bags, or sandwich bags.
Tie bags on the dog leash if you don’t have a pocket.

Preserving Natural Vegetation

Preserving Natural Vegetation is of great important in preventing runoff into storm water. Vegetation provides erosion control, storm water detention, biofiltration, and aesthetic values to your area. Preserving natural vegetation means protecting desirable trees, vines, bushes, and grasses from damages during project development. Listed below are noteworthy benefits and reasons to preserve natural vegetation.

It is easier to process higher quantities of storm water runoff than newly seeded areas.
Natural vegetation has a higher filtering capacity than storm water runoff by intercepting rainfall, promoting infiltration, and lowers the water table through transpiration.
Natural vegetation provides as a shield and screen against noise and visual disturbances.
Natural vegetation provides a fully developed habitat for wildlife.
Natural vegetation usually requires much less maintenance than planting new vegetation.

Swimming Pool Maintenance

Swimming Pool maintenance is an important factor in keeping Flower Mound environmentally safe. The primary concern when dealing with swimming pools is proper care of chlorine or chloramines which are used as disinfectants. This contaminated water can discharge into Flower Mound’s storm drain system and be harmful to the local wildlife. Procedures to follow to ensure proper maintenance are listed below.

Manage the pH and water hardness to reduce the corrosion of copper pipes.
Rinse the cartridge filters onto a dirty area, and shovel any residue into the soil.
Provide a pan or bucket beneath drain pipes to catch any leaks if necessary.
Conduct regular pool maintenance to control proper chlorine levels and to prevent the growth of algae.
Dechlorinate the water before draining.
Pool water must sit for at least two days after the addition of chlorine or bromine or until levels of pollutants are below 0.1 mg/l.
The pH of discharged water must be between 6.5 and 8.5 before being discharged.
Algicides like copper or silver can interrupt normal algal and plant growth and should not be used.
Discharge of swimming pool water should be done over some type of land surface so that some level of filtration by soil particles can occur.

Water Conservation

Only four of the estimated 100 gallons of water used per person daily is actually necessary, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. The EPA stresses that water usage in the home can be reduced by as much as 20 percent by implementing water conservation practices. These best management practices, recommended by the EPA, should translate into smaller water and sewage bills and are listed below.
Running your dishwasher and laundry machines with only full loads will decrease water usage. Also, use the shortest wash and rinse cycles at the lowest water level setting possible. Try to avoid using the permanent press cycle.
When hand washing dishes, brushing teeth, shaving, or washing your face, do not let the water run continuously.
Avoid using the garbage disposal system as much as possible.
You can place two half-gallon plastic bottles filled with water into your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used per flush.
Water your lawn only during the coolest time of the day to avoid the evaporation of water.
Take shorter showers and use a water-conserving showerhead instead of taking a bath.

Links

For more information on water quality and stormwater, see the links below.

Water Quality

Water Quality Information Center http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/

USGS: Water Science for Schools http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterquality.html

U.S. EPA: Ground Water and Drinking Water http://www.epa.gov/safewater/

Stormwater

U.S. EPA Storm water Program http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=6

NCTCOG Regional Storm water Program http://www.nctcog.org/envir/SEEclean/stormwater/index.asp

TCEQ Storm water Regulations http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/permitting/water_quality/WQ_industrial_permits.html