{"id":18817,"date":"2022-07-01T16:01:28","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T20:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?p=18817"},"modified":"2022-07-01T16:01:28","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T20:01:28","slug":"fertilize-responsibly-this-summer-zero-nitrogen-equals-clean-water-bodies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2022\/07\/fertilize-responsibly-this-summer-zero-nitrogen-equals-clean-water-bodies\/","title":{"rendered":"Fertilize Responsibly This Summer: Zero Nitrogen Equals Clean Water Bodies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While summer rains cool us down, they also wash fertilizer off our yards and fuel algae growth in our lakes, rivers and springs. We all know a healthy lawn adds to the beauty of our home, but equally if not more important, clean water bodies add to the beauty, ecology and economy of our community. So how can we achieve both healthy lawns and clean water bodies?<\/p>\n<p>We can accomplish both by adhering to <a href=\"http:\/\/orangecountyfl.net\/Environment\/FertilizeResponsibly.aspx#:~:text=Orange%20County%27s%20Fertilizer%20Management%20Ordinance%20applies%20to%20us,with%20zero%20nitrogen%20and%20zero%20phosphorus.%20Fertilizer%20Facts\">Orange County\u2019s Fertilizer Management Ordinance<\/a>, which had some important changes go into effect on June 1, 2022. A key provision of the ordinance states that Orange County residents and businesses can only apply fertilizer with <strong>zero nitrogen<\/strong> and <strong>zero phosphorus<\/strong> to their lawns and landscapes from June 1 to September 30.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRestricting the application of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer is a critical measure that will help protect our rivers, lakes, springs and groundwater from nutrient pollution and associated algae blooms,\u201d explained Julie Bortles, Environmental Programs Administrator, Water and Land Resources for <a href=\"http:\/\/orangecountyfl.net\/Environment.aspx#.YrTIrS-B2gQ\">Orange County\u2019s Environmental Protection Division<\/a>. \u201cHaving healthy waterways is essential to maintaining a healthy and vibrant ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ordinance also stipulates that from October 1 to May 1 (non-summer months), fertilizer containing nitrogen is permitted, but it must contain at least 65 percent slow-release nitrogen. Other provisions include keeping fertilizer 25 feet from natural water bodies, limiting each application to one-pound total nitrogen per 1,000 square feet (maximum three pounds per year), and using zero phosphorus unless a soil test shows a deficiency.<\/p>\n<p>Orange County, which recently was the recipient of a special award for its land conservation efforts from the <a href=\"https:\/\/floridawildlifefederation.org\/wildlife\/\">Florida Wildlife Federation<\/a>, has put initiatives in place with the understanding that an important aspect of quality of life in this region is tied to enjoying our water bodies, and we can only enjoy their benefits if they are healthy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis ordinance is one of many steps in the direction we\u2019re headed to keep pollutants out of our rivers, lakes and springs,\u201d said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings.<\/p>\n<p>Residents concerned about the health of their lawns have options to keep their yards green this summer. Summer-compliant, zero-nitrogen fertilizers are available in local stores.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about ways to have a healthy lawn year-round without harming the environment, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ocfl.net\/Environment\/FertilizeResponsibly.aspx#.YrTH4y-B2gQ\">Orange County\u2019s Fertilize Responsibly<\/a> webpage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While summer rains cool us down, they also wash fertilizer off our yards and fuel algae growth in our lakes, rivers and springs. We all know a healthy lawn adds to the beauty of our home, but equally if not more important, clean water bodies add to the beauty, ecology and economy of our community. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":18819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[24,48,533,568],"class_list":["post-18817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-health-safety","tag-county-news","tag-environment","tag-environmental-protection-division","tag-epd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fertilize Responsibly This Summer: Zero Nitrogen Equals Clean Water Bodies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2022\/07\/fertilize-responsibly-this-summer-zero-nitrogen-equals-clean-water-bodies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fertilize Responsibly This Summer: Zero Nitrogen Equals Clean Water Bodies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While summer rains cool us down, they also wash fertilizer off our yards and fuel algae growth in our lakes, rivers and springs. We all know a healthy lawn adds to the beauty of our home, but equally if not more important, clean water bodies add to the beauty, ecology and economy of our community. [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2022\/07\/fertilize-responsibly-this-summer-zero-nitrogen-equals-clean-water-bodies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OCFL Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-01T20:01:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Fert.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"686\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sydney Tran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OrangeCoFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OrangeCoFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sydney Tran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/fertilize-responsibly-this-summer-zero-nitrogen-equals-clean-water-bodies\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/fertilize-responsibly-this-summer-zero-nitrogen-equals-clean-water-bodies\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sydney Tran\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4f533c2fbcad3a19bf733c75a70e7e36\"},\"headline\":\"Fertilize Responsibly This Summer: Zero Nitrogen Equals Clean Water Bodies\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-01T20:01:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/fertilize-responsibly-this-summer-zero-nitrogen-equals-clean-water-bodies\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":387,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/fertilize-responsibly-this-summer-zero-nitrogen-equals-clean-water-bodies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/Fert.png\",\"keywords\":[\"County News\",\"Environment\",\"Environmental Protection Division\",\"EPD\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Public Health &amp; 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