Can Fall Leaves Affect Your Water Quality?

The autumn season brings leaves in brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red. During this time of year, leaves begin to fall from trees, piling up in yards across Connecticut. While these are beautiful to look at, many homeowners are concerned about whether they will affect their water quality. 

These concerns are valid; leaves can impact your water’s condition if they’re not properly managed. It’s important to understand what affects water quality and how you can keep your home safe and clean during the fall season.

How Fall Leaves Affect Water Quality

Trees draw many nutrients out of their leaves before they drop in autumn, causing the characteristic change in colors, but there are still a lot of nutrients left even after they hit the ground. High levels of phosphorous and nitrogen that remain can wash into storm drains and lead to algal blooms. These can be toxic and dangerous and even end up in your water supply!

What To Do About Fallen Leaves

To start, we should preface: trees are very valuable and have a lot of benefits! There is no need to get rid of them to stop this issue. However, with some seasonal maintenance and attention to detail, you’ll be able to take care of those fallen leaves in no time. Add these to your to-do list: 

• Rake them up frequently and dispose of them properly.
• If you have a lot of trees on your property, consider getting a mulching attachment for your lawn mower.
• Remove leaves from gutters and storm drains.
• When disposing of leaves, don’t burn them.
• Consider composting leaves.
• Do not rake leaves into the street.

How To Protect Your Well

As leaves begin to fall and decompose, they can release nutrients and minerals into the ground that contaminate your well water. While most of these contaminants aren’t harmful, they can give your water an unpleasant taste or odor. To protect your well, you should remove any leaf litter that is around the area as soon as possible. 

How To Protect Your Water in General

There’s no need to stress too much about the change in season this year because there’s a way to keep your home safe: use a water filter! Protect your health and install a water filtration system today. When you invest in quality, it’ll last for years — not months.

Wells and Filtration in Greenwich, CT

Keep your system operating at its peak. Our Wells and Filtration Division ensures that our clients have safe drinking, cooking, cleaning and playing water. 

Call Summer Rain to test your water, check your well’s flow rate and operation, and recommend improvements.