Bubbles! Carlin Girard (our Water Resources Specialist & Associate Director) and Emily Smith (our Natural Resources Technician) spotted this curious cluster of bubbles at the inflow to Karns Meadow stormwater wetland. What are these rainbow bubbles doing floating down the street? Did someone take a curbside bubble bath?

Vehicles and machinery leak gasoline, oil, and other fluids onto roadways and hardened surfaces. We’ve all seen the swirling rainbows left behind in puddles or gutters after a storm. Much of this pollution ends up running off into waterways. Also known as ‘stormwater,’ the rain and snowmelt that runs off streets and other hardened surfaces in urban areas usually carries pollutants with it. Stormwater is a primary source of contamination to Flat Creek.

We don’t know where these bubbles came from – maybe someone hosed their dog or car down in their driveway. Even though a little soap doesn’t seem too harmful, it’s a good reminder that the products and chemicals we use on our roads, driveways, and lawns, often end up in our streams. There are big stormwater management solutions, such as the Karns Meadow stormwater wetland, which captures up to 27% of stormwater runoff from the Town of Jackson and removes ~90% of the pollutant load. There are also small things you can do at home to prevent pollutants from entering waterways. For example, if you have a stream or pond on your property, you might plant a buffer of grasses and shrubs that can act as a natural filter between your property and the water. Consider that the chemicals or products we send “away” down the gutter, don’t really go away – but might end up in Flat Creek, Fish Creek, the Snake, or other local waterbody.

(In case you were wondering, Carlin does drop his phone in the puddle at the end of the video).