Donate to PCS to start the New Year off right! Your support in the early days of 2017 will provide us with the necessary funds to start planning and preparing supplies for all of our 2017 programs.  Any donation, big or small, makes a difference. What better New Year’s resolution than to give back to our community and water resource by donating to an organization that takes care of it. Donate today! 

To celebrate the accomplishments of 2016, Partners for Clean Streams hosted our Annual General Meeting on November 17th, 2016. In attendance were many of our community partners, board members, and volunteers who help make what we do possible. We celebrated with delicious food, good conversations, and a summary of all that PCS and our volunteers accomplished in the past year.

We recognized the Youth and Collegiate Clean Your Streams Challenge Winners and the Corporate and Organizations who received River Partner Certifications. During the business portion of the meeting, the voting members in attendance voted on new Board Members for the 2017-2018 term. To learn more about how to become a voting member, visit our website. We also recognized the 2016 River Partner Award recipient, Todd Crail, and thanked him for his passion, commitment, and participation in improving local waterways and educating future stewards of our precious resource. Todd is a professor at The University of Toledo, specializing in environmental studies and the unique ecology of our region.

We also acknowledged and thanked our former President of the Board and longtime supporter, Patrick Lawrence, as he is stepping down from his presidency. Patrick has been a part of PCS for over 10 years and has provided his knowledge, support, and guidance all throughout his tenure.  We couldn’t imagine PCS without Patrick so he has agreed to maintain some involvement by acting as the Past President for the Board. This role will solely be advisory. We wish Patrick all the best and thank him for all he has done for our organization!

Deanna Bobak – Deanna has Bachelors and Masters degrees in Geology from The University of Toledo, as well as a Masters in Business. She teaches and conducts research at The University of Toledo and Davis College. She has volunteered with PCS, Girl Scouts, as well as other local groups. Welcome Deanna!

Jeff Gibbs – Jeff is the owner and operator of Potbelly Sandwich Shop on Talmadge Road in Toledo. He acts as a councilman for Ottawa Hills and is currently leading the village’s natural resource planning. He is also a long-time Boy Scout volunteer and is excited to be a part of PCS’s efforts in our area. Welcome Jeff!

Joan King – Joan comes to PCS with 35 years of experience in the chemistry field, including employment with First Solar (currently), Perstorp, Jones & Henry, and others. She is also a licensed wastewater operator. Joan is a long-time Toledoan and has volunteered with PCS through Clean Your Streams Day. Welcome Joan!  

Looks like it is going to be a cold and snowy winter folks. But that doesn’t mean we stop thinking about our water resource and how our actions affect it. Here are some tips for water conservation, awareness, and protection in the winter months.  

• If your pipes are poorly insulated or are on a wall that receives a lot of wind, consider having your faucets slowly drip when you are not home or are sleeping. This helps prevent your pipes from freezing or bursting, something that wastes a lot more water than a slow drip from a faucet. For those of you who do not want to waste any water at all, place a bucket underneath your faucet to collect the water and use it on indoor plants or for pets.
• If a pipe does freeze and burst, be sure to know where the shut-off valve for the water supply is. Usually it can be found in the attic, basement, or crawlspace. Sometimes cities have street valves but this is not always the case. The faster you can shut this valve off in the event of a burst pipe, the less water that is wasted.
• Keep up with car maintenance to reduce leaking of oil, coolant, antifreeze and other hazardous fluids. These can leak fluids onto pavement, which ends up in streams and rivers directly, even on icy roads. A single pint of oil can cause a slick the size of a football field!
• Do you enjoy walking your dog in a winter wonderland? Be sure to bring along a plastic bag to pick up his or her waste! Although it may seem like it will get lost in the snow, pet waste will hang tight until the snow thaws in spring when it will eventually be washed into the nearest waterway.  The EPA considers pet waste a non-point source pollutant. Especially relevant to our area is the fact that pet waste provides the nutrients that can promote algal growth in Lake Erie.  “Doo” the right thing and pick up after your pup!