"Now, I've got to tell you that when I was thinking about running for mayor in 2005, I didn't think I would be spending my Monday mornings talking about pet waste," Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry said.
He wasn't talking about pet waste that ends up on the soles of your shoes, although that topic certainly produces strong opinions.
No, Newberry was talking Monday about pet waste and water quality.
He was at a news conference at Lansdowne Veterinary Clinic and Dental Center to announce a workshop to help businesses and apartment complexes protect streams from a number of pollutants.
"Stool from dogs and cats — dogs in particular — is frequently contaminated with bacterial pathogens ... as well as a variety of parasites," said Dr. Stephen Pinkston, a veterinarian.
If waste is not picked up and disposed of properly (in a trash can or toilet), those things can make other dogs sick if they come into contact with the pet waste, Pinkston said. Humans, especially children, can pick up hookworms or roundworms, he said. As the waste breaks down, it can contaminate surface water and groundwater.
A dispenser for biodegradable pet waste bags has been placed next to a trash can just outside the veterinary office, near the creek that runs behind Lansdowne Shoppes.
The workshop is being organized by Bluegrass PRIDE, whose executive director, Amy Sohner, said a handful of businesses already have become "water partners."
The list includes:
■ Ingersoll-Rand Trane, which holds regular cleanups of its property, ultimately keeping litter and debris out of streams.
■ Briarwood Apartments, which doesn't allow residents to wash cars in its parking lot and encourages them to fix engine oil leaks.
■ Lucia's World Friendly Boutique, which has planted a rain garden, uses a rain barrel and plans to put pollution-prevention information in its newsletters.
■ Lexmark International, which schedules regular cleanups and is conducting a water-use audit.
The city is required to clean up its streams under a settlement reached in 2008 with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency sued in 2006, contending that the city was violating the Clean Water Act.
"Despite all the progress we've made," Newberry said, "it's abundantly clear that to get to where we need to be in our community, we've got to involve a lot of people other than just us at city hall."
