Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association's 2005 Strategy

Strategic Approach

One of the many projects and programs that BASMAA and its member stormwater agencies are implementing to reduce pesticide-related risks in urban and suburban surface waters is the Our Water, Our World promotion of Less-Toxic Pest Control. The long-term goals of this effort are to develop and maintain partnerships with stores that:

are convenient for residents,
support a high-quality promotion,
address a significant volume of pesticide sales, and
continue for as long as pesticides are a significant compliance risk for wastewater and stormwater agencies.

The Our Water, Our World program is a collaboration among regional and local water pollution prevention agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area and locally owned nurseries and hardware stores. The program encourages less-toxic methods of pest prevention and control by means of a point-of-sale promotion. The Our Water, Our World promotion has three main goals:

Develop and build on partnerships with retailers who can help spread the word about water quality problems related to residential pesticide use
Educate the public about the value of non-toxic and less-toxic approaches to pest control—without delivering negative messages about any products
Create a program with broad appeal to other Bay Area stores, including chains

The ultimate goal of the program is to protect surface water quality in local creeks, San Francisco Bay, and the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta.

Progress on 2004 Activity 1

Our Water, Our World Promotion of Less-Toxic Pest Control

This activity reduces pesticide risk by ensuring that consumers have a wide variety of choices for pest control, including choices that focus on pest prevention rather than just pest control. This activity helps consumers make a more informed choice. USGS studies show that the most commonly used pesticides are the ones most likely to cause water quality problems. By helping to promote a wide variety of choices, this activity takes an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. IPM reduces pesticide risk because it employs physical, biological, and cultural controls to suppress pest populations below injury levels (pest prevention), and less-toxic chemical controls are used only as a last resort.

Risk reduction is measured through a combination of different evaluation tools, including:

Program / Store surveys – These are surveys of program participants in either the stores, events, or both and provide specific information about the program.
General – These are surveys of the general public and not specific to the program.
Shelf space surveys.

See the most recent Regional Evaluation Report (2003-2004) provided as a background document for details.

Progress on 2004 Activity 2

Pollution Prevention Outreach for Pesticide Distributors project

This activity reduces pesticide risk by complementing the Our Water, Our World promotion. While that program is focused on educating and working with owners, managers, and employees at retail nursery and hardware stores, the Distributors project is focused on educating presidents and managers of the distribution companies to illustrate how less-toxic products can have a positive impact on sales. This activity deals directly with the fact that the most commonly used (i.e., sold) pesticides are the ones most likely to cause water quality problems.

Risk reduction is measured through an annual summary of product sales indicating an increase or decrease in conventional and less-toxic products.

See the most recent Regional Evaluation Report (2003-2004) provided as a background document for details.

Activities for the Coming Year

Activity 1

Our Water, Our World Promotion of Less-Toxic Pest Control

How does this activity reduce pesticide risk?

How will you measure the risk reduction gained from this activity?