7.1 Distribute homeowner guides for home and neighborhood stormwater improvement BMPs and projects

Key Message: Three new comprehensive guides to Best Management Practices for individual homeowners and neighborhoods provide comprehensive tools and information to advance community involvement in reducing nutrient pollution. Model language that residents can use when negotiating contracts with landscape and pond maintenance vendors is needed.

Importance

Since suburban stormwater runoff is a major source of nitrogen pollution to Sarasota Bay (SBEP 2022), homeowner education and behavior change is focused on landscaping, fertilization, pet waste, and septic systems. Landscaping, irrigation, and pond management practices on private property and across neighborhoods can vary widely according to the finances, knowledge, and methods historically or routinely used by the owner and their maintenance companies (see Chapter 6.4). A widely distributed comprehensive best management practices (BMP) guide for homeowners, analogous to the guidance provided to farmers, ranchers, and golf course managers, would improve the public’s ability to identify and reduce their nutrient pollution footprint through recommended practices and DIY projects.

Overview

An array of resources, from websites and brochures to workshops and consultations, targets homeowners interested in shrinking their nutrient pollution footprint. Materials and tools are offered by the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Sarasota County Government’s Neighborhood Environment Stewardship Team (NEST), the Science and Environment Council, UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, and other environmental organizations.

Since this Playbook was launched in 2020, much progress has been made in developing and delivering targeted educational resources and funding assistance to homeowners. Topics include BMPs for fertilizer and soil, irrigation, septic systems and sewer lateral lines, habitat conservation, waterway buffers, litter, pet waste, hazardous chemicals, gas-powered engine emissions, and green infrastructure projects to manage stormwater.

Three comprehensive guides for HOAs and homeowners have been developed and distributed:

Healthy Ponds Guide
The Healthy Ponds Guide was created in 2023 by the Healthy Pond Collaborative, a partnership of Solutions To Avoid Red Tide (START), Sarasota County NEST Program, UF/IFAS Sarasota Extension, and the Science and Environment Council (see Chapter 9.6). It provides expert step-by-step guidance to homeowners and associations on how to assess and improve ponds. The guide won the Florida Stormwater Association’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2024 for its noteworthy public education efforts, which cover all aspects of neighborhood stormwater pond maintenance and restoration to minimize nutrient pollution—from pond assessment and planting to proper fertilization and irrigation. The distribution of the guide has been a success, with more than 300 copies entering the hands of interested homeowners and HOAs and hundreds of downloads from the Healthy Ponds webpage.

Green Living Toolkit
The Green Living Toolkit, the result of the partnership of more than 60 organizations, combines tools, videos, expert advice, and more on the topics of energy, waste, water, food, and nature (see Chapter 9.6). The tools and resources on the Water pages include detailed actions that residents can take to protect water quality in their own yard and in their neighborhood. From April 2022 to November 2023, the toolkit received more than 39,000 website page views and more than 27,000 unique website visitors.

Neighborhood Best Practices Course
UF/IFAS Extension developed and offers classes through the Neighborhood Best Practices educational series (see Chapter 4.4). The free, self-paced course is available online and participants can choose to follow a certified or non-certified path. In the course, participants cover topics regarding living in planned communities such as fertilization, wildlife interactions, stormwater management, Florida-friendly landscaping, and coastal systems. In addition, the Sarasota County Starter Kit specifically helps newcomers acclimate to the region with related content on best practices for living around stormwater ponds, Florida-Friendly Landscaping TM, and protecting coastal wetlands.
The UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County also coordinates with Sarasota County Public Works Stormwater and community non-profits and businesses on shared education highlighting water quality improvement practices and projects relevant to homes and neighborhoods. Direct assistance to residents includes:

• Guidance to residents in creating fertilizer budgets and using reclaimed water;
• Irrigation education and audits via a Mobile Irrigation Lab;
• Onsite landscaping and stormwater pond management consultations;
• Guidance on planning, installing, and maintaining green infrastructure (Figure 7.1.1); and
• Creation of incentives and cost share programs.

The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program’s Bay-Friendly Living Guide hosted on the Program’s website provides tips for simple and effective actions residents can take in the home, yard, community, school, workplace, and on the water to reduce nutrient pollution to waterways.

Approach

Efforts to develop shared outreach and education should continue to be coordinated among UF/IFAS, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Coastal & Heartland National Estuary Partnership, Sarasota County Neighborhood Environment Stewardship Team, Science and Environment Council, and other environmental education organizations (see Chapter 9.6).

There is an unfilled need for model language that residents can use when negotiating contracts with landscape and pond maintenance vendors. While model Florida Friendly Landscaping ™ BMP language for adoption in HOA bylaws and maintenance contracts is included in the Green Living Toolkit, similar model language is still needed for HOA bylaws and maintenance contracts related to stormwater pond management (see Chapter 6.4). Because many residents are unaware of applicable county and municipal government ordinances, the template could serve as an education tool while offering leverage for subdivision associations to advocate for specific management practices.