This pilot project was a collaborative effort with Keep Prince William Beautiful (KPWB), Prince William County Public Works, the City of Manassas, and the White House Farm Foundation. Our organizations have a common goal: protecting the natural resources of the Prince William County Region. From monitoring local waterways to educating residents on environmental stewardship, we all have a stake in keeping our streams, soil, and green spaces healthy. Pet waste is a stormwater pollutant, and bagging it and throwing it in the trash is something every dog owner can do to help. So join us and Be Cool. Trash the Stool.
Be Cool Trash the Stool Campaign
Chances are, you’ve walked through a park or down your street lately, and chances are you’ve come across some pet waste someone else didn’t bother to pick up and throw it away. We’ve all been there — and we’re all a little tired of it. We urge Prince William County Region residents to:
Be Cool. Trash the Stool.
PRINCE WILLIAM REGIONAL PET WASTE COALITION
To keep up with our campaign, follow @becooltrashthestool on Instagram! Have questions? Email becooltrashthestool@kpwb.org
About the Project
It turns out that leaving pet waste on the ground does a lot more damage than most people realize. From our local waterways to the soil beneath our feet, dog waste has a real impact on the environmental quality of Prince William County. Keep reading to find out why bagging it makes a bigger difference than you might think.
Environmental Impact
Commercial dog food contains added nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen is a core component of protein, which dogs need for growth and basic body functions. Phosphorus is essential for bone development, especially in puppies. Because dogs need both of these nutrients to thrive, phosphorus shows up in almost every commercial dog food, and protein-rich ingredients drive nitrogen levels up as well. The problem is that most commercially available dog foods contain more phosphorus than dogs actually need, and what the body doesn’t use gets passed out the other end. They end up in the environment.
When pet waste is left on the ground, rain carries those nutrients into nearby streams, rivers, and lakes, where they cause a process called eutrophication. That’s when excess nutrients fuel explosive algae growth, which depletes oxygen in the water and creates conditions where fish and other aquatic life can’t survive.
Wild animal waste doesn’t cause the same problem. Wildlife eat natural diets, so their waste releases nutrients at levels the ecosystem can actually handle. Pet waste is a different story:
On top of the nutrient overload, pet waste breaks down more slowly than wild animal waste. That slower decomposition gives harmful bacteria and parasites more time to linger in the soil, and more opportunities to contaminate groundwater or wash into streams during a heavy rain.
Community Impacts
Your dog is family. But what they leave behind? Not so great for the rest of the family, or the neighborhood! That is why YOU need to do YOUR dooty by bagging and throwing your pet’s waste in the trash!
Dog waste is full of bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella, and Giardia, and parasites like roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms that can make people and other animals seriously sick. Some of those pathogens stick around for months, and others can survive for years. Dogs have built up a tolerance to most of them over time, but people and wildlife haven’t. And beyond the health stuff, nobody wants to spend their afternoon at the park watching every step they take!
Picking up after your dog is one of the easiest things you can do to keep Prince William County Region a place worth being in, for your neighbors, for local wildlife, and for everyone’s shoes. So Be Cool and Trash the Stool!
Water Quality Research
Our team is out in the field conducting water quality testing at major waterways across the Prince William County Region, measuring how pet waste affects nitrate and phosphate levels in our local water.
Volunteers are tasked with finding a waterway near them, counting instances of pet waste around the waterway, then testing the waterway’s nitrate and phosphate levels with test strips that we will provide. We ask that volunteers test their waterways at least once a month.
Testing for nitrate and phosphate is easy! Watch the short video below from our friends at the Izaak Walton League of America’s Nitrate Watch Program to see just how easy it is!
Interested? Fill out the Contact form below! A member of our team will reach out to you to answer any questions you have and set up a date/time for an orientation. During the orientation, we will give you the necessary supplies and teach you how to use them!
BCTTS Volunteer Interest Form
“Is my drinking water impacted by pet waste?”
Most drinking water in the Prince William County Region is treated at wastewater treatment facilities before it ever reaches your tap. These plants use a multi-stage process to remove pathogens, organic matter, and other contaminants from water, which means water that has gone through treatment is generally safe to drink. So if pet waste somehow makes its way into the wastewater system, treatment takes care of it.
The bigger concern is our Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4). Unlike wastewater, stormwater runoff flows directly into nearby streams, lakes, and bays without receiving any treatment. That means when pet waste is left on the ground and it rains, the bacteria, parasites, and excess nutrients wash straight into our local waterways with nothing filtering them out. A single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness, and serious kidney disorders in humans.
Those same waterways — our streams, the Occoquan Reservoir, and the Potomac River — are sources of drinking water for communities across the region. Algal blooms fueled by excess nitrogen and phosphorus from pet waste have the potential to make those water sources undrinkable. Even if the water is eventually treated, contamination puts more pressure on treatment systems and can affect recreational use of waterways in the meantime.
So while your tap water is protected, what ends up in our streams is not. That is why it matters to Be Cool. Trash the Stool.
Common Myths
“Wild animals go outside all the time. What’s the difference?”
The difference is diet. Wild animals eat what nature provides, so their waste breaks down in ways the ecosystem is built to handle. Dog food is formulated with levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that don’t occur naturally. When that waste is left on the ground, those nutrients end up where they don’t belong.
“Aren’t extra nutrients good for plants and soil?”
In small, natural amounts, yes. But the concentrations in pet waste are far beyond what local ecosystems can absorb. The excess fuels eutrophication, the same algae-bloom problem described above, which ultimately does more harm than good to the environment it enters.
“It’ll just biodegrade anyway, right?”
That’s actually the problem. As pet waste breaks down, bacteria, parasites, and excess nutrients seep into the soil and make their way into our waterways. Bagging it and throwing it away keeps all of that out of the ground, and out of the water, where it doesn’t belong.
“Why do I need to pick it up if it’s in my own yard or the woods behind my house?”
When pet waste sits on the ground, every rainstorm is an opportunity for bacteria, parasites, and excess nutrients to wash into our local waterways. Everybody lives in a watershed, and every watershed drains into local waterways before eventually traveling to the ocean.
“Isn’t it the County’s job to pick up the waste?”
The County does a lot to protect our waterways and keep our community clean, but pet waste is one thing that really comes down to individual responsibility. There is no practical way to collect waste left across thousands of yards, trails, and green spaces. The good news is the fix is simple and it only takes a second. Be Cool. Trash the Stool.
How You Can Help
Be Cool. Trash The Stool.
Carry a few bags on every walk and keep some handy for yard patrol. Seal the waste and toss it in the trash.
Report Pet Waste Findings Around You!
Fill out this survey any time you see pet waste that hasn’t been bagged and trashed. This helps us create a map of where the most pet waste is found in Prince William County so we can focus our efforts in the right places.
Not a fan of getting up close?
A pooper scooper gives you a little distance. Keep one in the yard and make cleanup a quick part of your routine.
Hire it out.
Pet waste removal services will come to your home and take care of it for you, usually on a weekly or biweekly schedule. Search “pet waste removal services Prince William County” to find options near you.
Try a pet waste digester.
A pet waste digester is basically a small in-ground system that breaks down dog waste using enzymes and water, right in your yard. It is a great low-maintenance option for dog owners who want an eco-friendly solution. You can find them online or at most pet supply stores. Just make sure it is installed away from your vegetable garden and any water sources.
Whatever you do, keep pet waste out of your compost pile.
It might seem like a natural fit, but dog waste should never go into a regular compost pile. Backyard compost does not get hot enough to kill the harmful bacteria and parasites found in pet waste. Finished compost containing pet waste can contaminate soil and anything you grow in it.
Do you take your dog to Prince William Forest Park? Become a B.A.R.K Ranger!
As long as you both follow the B.A.R.K. Ranger rules, you can take your leashed pet everywhere you can go in the park, except for the back country area and the cabin camps to protect natural and cultural resources. Pets and their families can also fill out a B.A.R.K. Ranger booklet at the visitor center to earn a free B.A.R.K. Ranger leash tag! Click here to learn more.
Support the Chesapeake Bay
Want to do even more for local waterways? Consider getting a Chesapeake Bay license plate. A portion of every plate purchase goes directly toward protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which includes the very streams and rivers that pet waste can impact right here in Prince William County. It is a small thing you can do every time you hit the road that makes a real difference. Click here to learn more and click here to purchase your plate with the Virginia DMV.
