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Former mayor and volunteer pooper scooper Jerry Briggs is considering asking the White Bear Lake City Council for permission to erect a sign requesting that dog owners not allow their pets to defecate at Veterans Park.
Former mayor and volunteer pooper scooper Jerry Briggs is considering asking the White Bear Lake City Council for permission to erect a sign requesting that dog owners not allow their pets to defecate at Veterans Park.
WHITE BEAR LAKE — Leaving dog doo-doo behind on city property may someday be against the law.
The city will review and possibly rewrite an ordinance requiring pet owners to remove and properly dispose of pet waste on city-owned land, according to White Bear’s in-house environmental specialist Connie Taillon.
An ordinance couldn’t come too soon for former mayor and volunteer pooper scooper Jerry Briggs. The VFW Post 1782 member takes it upon himself to clean up canine crap along Lake Avenue South. Dog walkers using the boardwalk have gotten better about proper disposal, Briggs said, but he still finds pet waste in Veterans Park — right next to the lake.
To Briggs, allowing dogs to defecate in the park is distressing. “That ground was blessed when the monument was dedicated,” he said. “It’s hallowed ground.”
A crackdown on pet waste is part of the stormwater pollution prevention program outlined by Taillon at the last City Council meeting. She explained that the storm sewer system is designed to transport stormwater to the nearest lake, stream or wetland. Waste or pollution that enters the system isn’t treated, and may cause serious environmental damage.
The environmental engineer said the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization or VLAWMO, has educational materials available to help inform pet owners that waste is a pollutant. The city plans to use the materials as part of a first-step outreach program to prevent pollution in the stormwater system.
The watershed’s website offers pet waste tidbits of the month. One posted entry indicates something many dog owners may not know: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies dog waste as a dangerous pollutant in the same category as toxic chemicals and oil.
While chemical pollution such as paints, solvents and motor oils contaminate water and beaches, bacterial contamination from animal waste also threatens waterways, beaches, wildlife and public health, according to the VLAWMO site. Pet waste, it says, is a preventable contaminant that should be picked up to help keep surface water healthy.
One recommended method of disposal is to flush dog poop (unbagged) down the toilet for the same filtering and treatment as human waste. Kitty litter should never be dumped outside since it can wash into streams. Rather, cat owners should bag the litter and pitch it in the trash.
Some may not know that dog feces left to decay can take over one year to decompose. The poop may no longer be visible, but eggs from parasites like hookworms, ringworms and tapeworms can linger for years in the soil — leaving people and pets vulnerable to serious infection.
Taillon reminded council that the city has a reporting system for illicit discharge of contaminants into the storm sewer system. “Residents are encouraged to report suspicious activities,” she said.
In addition to pet waste, common illicit discharges include fertilizer, grass, leaves, pesticides, gas, oil, paints and cleaners, concrete wastewater and sediment from construction sites.
Illicit discharges can be reported to the city on an online form at https://www.whitebearlake.org/engineering/webform/report-illicit-discharge or residents can call the engineering department at 651-429-8531. The reporter can remain anonymous.
In the meantime, Briggs is considering asking council for permission to erect a sign at Veterans Park. “I’m not sure of the wording yet,” he said, “but it will say something like ‘No dogs defecating in Veterans Park.’”
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