Leaf-free Streets for a Clean Lake Wingra

Did you know that leaves left in the streets during rain events leach phosphorus into our lakes leading to algal blooms in the summer? Volunteer to help keep Lake Wingra clean by helping to keep leaves out of the streets before rainfall events this fall.

There are three actions you can take to help with our fall leaf-free street goals:

1. Adopt-a-block: By adopting a block (or any stretch of street) in the Lake Wingra Watershed, you will commit to make an effort to clear leaves out of your street before rainfall events. You can clear them yourself, or recruit your neighbors to help. Please record your efforts using the Leaf-free Street Effort Form so we can celebrate our successes at the end of the season.
2. Get a yard sign: We have lots of yard signs to give away – see the photo above. If you live in the Lake Wingra Watershed, sign up here to request a sign to either pick up or have delivered depending on where you live.
3. Sign up for Leaf-free Street Rain Alerts: To keep leaves out of the lake, you only need to remove the leaves from the streets right before rainfall events. Sign up through Ripple Effects to get a text or email reminding you to remove leaves when rain is in the forecast.

For more information on leaf-free streets, check out Dane County Ripple Effects.

Want to learn more about how leaf-free streets can help Madison lakes?

Check out these studies done by USGS and the City of Madison:

Using leaf collection and street cleaning to reduce nutrients in urban stormwater

Quantifying leachable phosphorus from the leaves of common midwest urban street trees and implications for stormwater management