PROTECTING YOUR GROUNDWATER
START AT HOME
SO . . .
The best place to start protecting groundwater is in
your home.

READ PRODUCT LABELS before purchasing
to determine what substances they contain.
***

When rain and snow fall, some water flows into
streams, lakes, and oceans and becomes surface
water. Most precipitation, however, either
evaporates or seeps deep into the soil, eventually
becoming groundwater.
Pollution entering the soil from sources such as
landfills, leaky septic systems, underground
storage tanks or home lawn care can contaminate
the aquifer.
Groundwater commonly makes its way to the
surface in streams and springs. A contaminated
aquifer can thus pollute surface water supplies as
well.
Some contamination can be traced to hazardous
substances we use around our homes. If dumped
down the drain, flushed down the toilet, or poured
on the ground, these products can contaminate the
groundwater supply. And once an aquifer is
polluted, it is expensive and difficult to clean up.
PURCHASE SAFER ALTERNATIVE
PRODUCTS instead of hazardous household
products and pesticides whenever possible.
See reverse side for Alternative Product
information.
***

Water is the universal solvent. It picks up
pollutants on its way to the aquifer from which we
draw our drinking water.
Groundwater is pumped from an aquifer to a
water treatment facility where it is tested, treated,
and stored until needed.
WHAT
SHOULD
YOU DO
WITH
HAZARDOUS
PRODUCTS?
IF THERE IS NOT AN ALTERNATIVE to
products, such as motor oil, follow the
directions to handle and dispose of these
products safely.
See reverse side for Hazardous Product
Recycling information.
***

NEVER DISPOSE OF the following hazardous
household products in the garbage, on the
ground, down the drain or down the toilet:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Oven cleaner
Furniture polish
Metal polish
Shoe polish
Glues and adhesives
Nail polish remover
Batteries
Fluorescent bulbs
Gasoline
Motor Oil
Antifreeze
Paint products
Electronic waste (like computers, cell
phones and televisions)

IF YOU DO PURCHASE products containing
hazardous substances:
o
buy only as much as you need,
o
use product up completely so you can
discard the empty container,
o
let products, such as paint, polishes or
adhesives dry completely in their
container before discarding,
o
give the excess product to someone
else to use,
o
take the product to a business that
recycles hazardous products, or
o
save the product for hazardous waste
collection.
HOW AND WHERE TO FIND
ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS







The Green Guide
www.thegreenguide.com
Green Janitorial Products and Services
www.ofee.gov/gp/greenjanitorial.html
Greenflag Program - Nontoxic Products Resource
Packet
www.greenflagschools.org/NTP%20Packet.html
EPA Green Products Web Site
www.epa.gov/oppt/epp/database.htm
Greening Your Purchase of Cleaning Products
www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/clean/cleaning.htm
Green Seal
www.greenseal.org
Building Green
www.buildinggreen.com/biblio/biblio.cfm
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

WHERE TO RECYCLE HAZARDOUS
PRODUCTS IN CRAWFORD COUNTY
Questions about whether a substance is hazardous
or how to dispose of it:
Crawford County Solid Waste Authority
231 Chestnut Street, Meadville, PA 16335
(814) 333-7366
Motor oils, heating oils, antifreeze, diesel fuel, dry
cell batteries, fluorescent lamps, and electronic
equipment:
ECS&R, 3237 US Highway 19
Cochranton, PA 16314
(814) 425-7773
www.ecsr.net

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WHAT
YOU
CAN
DO!
Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection
www.dep.state.pa.us
The League of Women Voters’ Water Resources
Education Network
www.pa.lwv.org.wren
Drinking Water Wise
www.drinkingwaterwise.org
The Groundwater Foundation
www.groundwater.org
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
www.epa.gov/safewater
Meadville Area Water Authority
www.mawa.us
Meadville Area Water Authority
18160 Rogers Ferry Road
Meadville, PA 16335
Wet cell batteries:
Meadville Metal Co., 986 French Street
Meadville, PA 16335
(814) 724-2241
_________________________________________
Rechargeable batteries:
www.call2recycle.org
(800)822-8837
(Also, check your local electronics stores like Radio
Shack.)
GROUNDWATER
PROTECTION
This flyer was developed by the Meadville Area Partners
Promoting Source Water Protection and funded by the League
of Women Voters Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund under a
grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
Telephone: (814) 724-6057
Fax: (814) 337-3105
Email: mawa@zoominternet.net
Visit our website at
www.mawa.us