Recap Watershed Project; The pet waste problem in The Woodlands

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Saturday morning, The Woodlands Township had an informational seminar regarding the Watershed Project: The pet waste problem. In an effort to keep the water and The Woodlands clean, members of the Township, passed around literature on water problems in The Woodlands, and how individuals can help their community.

Pet waste is a problem in The Woodlands. Why? Well in a community of about 42,000 households, the national average is 1.6 dogs per home. That’s a whole lot of dogs running about. A dog averages about .75 pound of waste per day. So, a rough estimate of dog poop per day in The Woodlands is 50,000 pounds. Now, in a perfect world, owners would dispose of their pet’s waste in a reasonable manner. Though, we do not live in a perfect world. Owners continually neglect to dispose of their pet’s
waste properly every day.

Unlike other animals, dog poop does not just disintegrate or decompose. No! Dog poop can break down and seemingly disappear like any organic object, the only problem is that dogs have pathogens, bacteria, viruses, intestinal parasites that persist in/on the soil or vegetation. “According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pet droppings can contribute to diseases animals pass to humans, called zoonoses. When infected dog poop is deposited on your lawn, the eggs of certain roundworms and other parasites can linger in your soil for years.”

Now, what does this have to do with our waterways? During rainfall and storms, pet waste bacteria can wash into storm drains that eventually end up in local waterways. Pathogens can flow into nearby waterways untreated and unfiltered. “The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lists all our local waterways as impaired for contact recreation.”

Short end of the stick... its time for residents to pick up after their pets. It’s a simple task that takes little to no effort. Just because The Woodlands is a great community doesn’t mean we should be accustomed to others cleaning up a problem. This is a community-wide effort that everyone can do their part in. According to the Township, people are bagging their dog poop but are simple leaving the bagged poop on the pathway. This isn’t a solution; people need to dispose of this waste in the trash.

The Woodlands is one of the best communities in the nation, let's have some respect for it and properly dispose our dog poop. Let’s keep our children and neighbors safe.

https://www.doodycalls.com/articles/blog/lawn-care-for-dog-owners/toxic-waste/
https://www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/