Stormwater:

If you see something…say something. Report spills!

Have you seen a spill or an unknown substance near a storm drain, but didn’t know what to do? It could be an oil slick on the road, accumulated mud tracked out from a construction site, a leaking dumpster, or soapy car wash water. The list goes on. Who do we call? What do we say? Is it even worth reporting? When in doubt, just remember, “if you see something, say something.” Spills can pose a threat to human health and safety, and cause damage to our stormwater systems (ditches, swales, catch basins, ponds). When it rains, spills can get into these systems and from there, they drain into our surface waters (creeks, streams, ponds, lakes, and the Puget Sound). When a spill reaches our waters, it harms people, aquatic habitats, and wildlife like salmon, Orca, and amphibians. It can also affect our ground water, potentially reaching our aquifers where we extract all our drinking water. The goal is to catch and clean spills before they cause harm to any one of these sensitive systems. Quick reporting of spills goes a long way to keep our local waterways healthy and safe. 

To report spills (you can be anonymous), either call the City of Tumwater at 360-754-4150 and speak to one of our dedicated  staff, or send the information through our Report a Problem link on our webpage. Any information about the spill is helpful, including material (if known), estimated size of spill, location, and photos. Thanks for doing your part!

Tips for cleaning up small spills at home:

Vehicle leaks, paint drips, and household or yard chemicals are easy to clean up safely. In these situations, it’s best to clean up right away, using absorbent materials such as rags, kitty litter, and paper towels to soak up the spill. Then, put all materials in a garbage bag and dispose of the bag in the trash. If you clean up a flammable liquid, like gasoline, take the absorbent soaked material to Hazo House for free hazardous waste disposal.

Embrace your wild side & create your own secret garden

Imagine stepping out into your yard, patio, or even balcony and witnessing a myriad of birds, insects, and plants thriving as they provide the sweet sights and smells of the Pacific Northwest. We live in one of the most beautiful places in the country and yet our common yard scaping practices do not embrace all that we have. This is a lost opportunity to really experience the Northwest in your front and back yard. For those of you already underway fostering all the Pacific Northwest has to offer, you know what we are talking about. For those wanting to understand more about the many benefits, you’re in luck! 

The city has officially kicked off the Habitat at Home and Natural Yard Care program in partnership with Thurston County.  The program is designed for Tumwater residents, businesses, and those passionate about embracing their wild side to create natural Pacific Northwest landscapes. These landscapes promote healthy biodiverse environments for local and migrating wildlife, reduce water use, and help eliminate unwanted herbicide, pesticide, and fertilizer use that leads to water quality issues within our waterways and groundwater. 

To start your journey, check out our different tracks that fit your level of experience and how you can start your journey by unlocking the secrets of having your very own magical garden that you can create. Let’s get you started, go to ThurstonGoGreen.org to access all the information and free training.

Operations & Maintenance

Fall leaves: Beauty with responsibility

Autumn in Tumwater transforms our streets and yards into a canvas of golds, reds, and oranges. While fall leaves add seasonal charm, managing leaf litter is an important responsibility for all of us.

When leaves are intentionally blown or raked into the street, they create serious challenges for operations and maintenance crews. Wet piles clog storm drains, increase flooding risks, and make cleanup more labor-intensive. Street sweepers are not designed to pick up piles of leaves; they are intended to remove small debris and contaminants. In fact, when leaf litter sits in the roadway, it can absorb oils, heavy metals, and other pollutants. Once contaminated, these leaves can contribute to the pollution that impacts water quality and our environment.

Instead of blowing leaves in the street, residents and property managers can put leaf litter to good use. Bagged leaves can be taken to the Thurston County Waste & Recovery Center, or use a yard waste container provided by your waste management company, or utilize the City of Olympia's seasonal Saturday Drop-off Site. These options allow for legal disposal and composting of yard waste. For a more convenient option, compost them at home or use them as mulch to enrich your garden beds. These practices not only reduce waste but also recycle nutrients back into the soil.

By keeping leaves out of the street and managing them responsibly, we help protect our community, support our maintenance crews, and preserve Tumwater’s fall beauty for everyone to enjoy.

Drinking Water

Tumwater is excited to welcome Water Resources Specialist Alex Kate Halvey, Ph.D. to the Water Resources and Sustainability Team!

Alex Kate joins us from Washington, D.C., where she worked for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Policy. She brings strong experience as a project manager with knowledge in public policy, coalition building, community engagement, and water resource management.

In her new role, Alex Kate will focus on short-, mid-, and long-term plans to conserve water in Tumwater. She will work on the city’s drinking water conservation plan by finding ways to support Tumwater's goal of saving up to 20 percent of our water over the next 20-30 years. With help from our community, we will reduce irrigation uses of drinking water and expand our conservation incentive programs to help residents and businesses make the changes needed to help meet these goals.

Winterizing your irrigation

As fall settles into the Pacific Northwest, it’s time for homeowners and property managers in Tumwater to prepare irrigation systems for winter. Failing to winterize can lead to costly damage from freezing temperatures such as burst pipes, and broken valves.

The first step is to shut off the water supply to your irrigation system. Once the water is off, drain any remaining water from the lines—compressed air “blowouts” are the most effective method to clear pipes and prevent freezing. Be sure to open all valves and test drain points so no water is trapped.
Don’t forget your backflow prevention device: insulate it with a protective cover or wrap it in insulating material to guard against frost. Sprinkler heads should also be inspected and cleared of debris before winter.

If you’re not comfortable performing a blowout yourself, hire a  irrigation professional—this ensures the system is properly cleared without damaging pipes.

By taking these preventive steps in the fall, you’ll avoid repairs in the spring and extend the life of your irrigation system. Preparing now means a smoother start to the watering season when the Tumwater rains finally give way to sunnier days.

Wastewater

Keep fats, oils, and grease out of our drains!

Did you know that everyday cooking byproducts—like fats, oils, and grease (often called “FOG”)—can cause big problems for our sewer system? When these liquids are poured down the sink or flushed, they don’t just disappear. Instead, they cool, harden, and build up inside pipes and lift stations, creating clogs that are costly to fix and can lead to messy sewer overflows in our community.

The good news? Preventing these problems is simple, and it starts at home. Here are a few easy steps you can take:

• Don’t pour grease down the sink. Let it cool, then scrape it into the trash or collect it in a sealed container.
• Wipe before you wash. Use a paper towel to wipe greasy pans and plates before rinsing.
• Keep food scraps out of drains. Even small bits add up—toss them in the compost or garbage instead.
• Only flush the “3 P’s.” That’s pee, poop, and (toilet) paper. Items like wipes, paper towels, or hygiene products should always go in the trash, even if the package says “flushable.”

By making these small changes, you’re helping keep Tumwater’s pipes clear, protecting our environment, and saving everyone the cost and hassle of sewer repairs. Together, we can keep things flowing smoothly!

Air quality (PM2.5) and you

In Washington, the Department of Health states that small particulate matter air pollution (called PM2.5) is typically worse during the fall and winter, and locally, PM2.5 or fine particulate matter is the air pollutant of main concern. PM2.5 pollution comes from many different sources, but largely from the burning of fossil fuels, burning wood, and vehicle tailpipe emissions.  

Thurston is one of seven counties in Washington with the highest prevalence of adult and youth asthma.  This fall, we encourage you to take an action (or two or three) that can help reduce your impact on local air quality, and in turn, reduce impacts that harm neighbors who may have asthma:

• Replace a local trip in a personal vehicle with walking, biking, or taking Intercity Transit’s free buses.
• Defrost car windshields with a scraper, instead of idling your vehicle.
• Turn your car off instead of idling, whenever you can. 
• If you’re planning on having a fire outdoors for recreation, check the Olympia Region Clean Air Agency website for current burn bans and air quality. If the air quality is bad, skip the fire.
• If you’re going to burn wood in a fireplace, stove, or firepit, consider burning composite logs instead. Composite logs emit 30% less greenhouse gases and 80% less carbon monoxide.
• Switch home appliances from natural gas to electric.
  • If you cannot switch to electric home appliances and still need to burn wood to keep your home warm, choose pellets and dry wood which EPA BurnWise program suggests.
  • If you need financial assistance to switch from a wood stove to an electric HVAC system, keep an eye on funding from ORCAA’s Wood Stove Replacement Grant and Energize Thurston. 
• Use hand-powered or electric lawn care equipment rather than gasoline-powered.  
• Plant trees where you can. 
• Reduce your energy consumption. Part of our energy grid still comes from burning fossil fuels. The less we need to burn, the better our air quality and climate.

Fall foliage in Tumwater

As we begin to enter autumn, the City of Tumwater will begin to boast some of its beautiful fall colors all over town.  There are several key areas that are striking with their foliage as the season progresses.

Linwood Avenue is lined with Autumn Purple Ash (Fraxinus americana ‘Autumn Purple’), which is key to note as their foliage turns a beautiful reddish-purple to mahogany as their leaves drop.  Also, we may only see their benefits for a handful more years before we must remove them due to an invasive pest.  Therefore, please do appreciate their benefits as we are likely on a finite timeframe.

Tumwater Boulevard hosts the Red Oak (Quercus rubra) and it is absolutely incredible to drive down come fall.  These sentinels line the Boulevard all the way to I-5, giving a sense of serenity as you begin to merge onto the highway.  Their color is an unmatched vibrant red that provided a stark contrast to many of the neighboring vegetation surrounding it.  

If there any more questions of the species of trees along the right-of-way in Tumwater, please contact Tumwater’s Urban Forester at bcaughlan@ci.tumwater.wa.us. 

Conservation and stewardship

Tumwater Stream Team is growing its volunteer efforts as we continue important projects in and around the city. This fall kicks off with a splash as our Salmon Stewards welcome visitors at Tumwater Falls, sharing their knowledge with people from across the Pacific Northwest who come to witness the Chinook Salmon Run. Along with educating park visitors about the salmon’s life cycle and their journey back to Tumwater, our team has also been hard at work at the future Sapp Road Park.

Over the summer, volunteers helped remove invasive plants like yellow flag iris, thistle, and reed canary grass, which threaten native vegetation and the health of Percival Creek. Thanks to these efforts, we’ve made great progress—but there’s still more to do!

If you’d like to join our amazing group of volunteers—whether by helping with conservation projects or serving as a Salmon Steward—visit StreamTeam.info and sign up on the registration page. We’d love to have you on the team!