Stormwater Tips: How To Do Your Part

Ways to help protect our water:

• Bag your pet’s waste – Leaving pet waste on the ground pollutes our water and poses a health risk for pets and people, especially children. Please remember to always scoop your pet's poop and dispose of it properly.
• Keep storm drains free of leaves and other debris - Never blow or sweep yard debris in the storm drain. Bag the debris and throw away or recycle.
• Don’t apply pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides before it rains - Contrary to popular belief, the rain won’t help to soak these chemicals into the ground, it will only help create polluted runoff into our local creeks
• Select native and adapted plants and grasses that are drought and pest resistantce - Native plants require less water, fertilizer, and pesticides.  Learn more about native and adapted plants.
• Use a commercial car wash facility - water used at a commercial car wash facilities go to the sewer system, not the storm drain.
• Dispose of paint, chemicals and other hazardous waste properly - Don’t get rid of old or unused paint or chemicals by dumping it down the storm drain; dispose of paint and other household hazardous waste at recycling facilities. Kyle residents can use the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center FREE OF CHARGE at the San Marcos Household Hazardous Waste Collection & Reuse Facility located at 630 E. Hopkins, San Marcos, Texas.
• Dispose of oil properly and check for leaks - If you change your car’s oil, don’t dump it on the ground or in the storm drain. Dispose of it properly at an oil recycling center. Check your car, motorcycle, or boat for leaks - Clean up spilled fluids with an absorbent material; don’t rinse the spills into the storm drain.
• Report illicit discharges -  Report any spill and/or discharge into the city's storm drain system by completing the online form. For emergencies, call 911.
• Dispose of trash properly - Don’t mess with Texas! Throw litter away in a garbage can, not out your window and recycle what you can
  • Bulky Pickups - Kyle utility customers can contact TDS twice per year to have items such as furniture, appliances or bundled brush of up to 3 cubic yards (approximately the size of a washer and dryer) picked up at no additional charge. Yard waste must be bundled, tied and cut into four (4) foot lengths, not to exceed 35 pounds per bundle. Limbs within the bundle must be no more than four 4 inches in diameter. To schedule, call TDS at 1-800-375-8375.
  • Additional Bagged Yard Waste - Up to 10 bags of additional yard waste can be picked up every other week with the green waste cart. The bags must be the approved brown outdoor paper bags for yard waste and must be placed next to green cart. Yard waste can include tree trimmings, yard clippings, branches, or brush.
  • Control runoff and erosion - Removing vegetation or covering the ground with pavement and buildings prevents water from soaking into the soil. During rainstorms, this water flows across the ground, picking up oil, pesticides, fertilizers, grit or anything else that will float, dissolve or be moved along. These pollutants are carried into the surface water and ground water. 
    • Retain natural ground cover whenever possible.
    • Stabilize areas of bare soil with vegetation as soon as possible after grading. Plant more trees and shrubs, they capture and hold a lot of rain before it reaches the ground. Wherever possible, keep existing trees and bushes and plant more.
    • Avoid landscaping plastic. Large plastic sheets used to prevent erosion or weeds create as much runoff as paved streets. Use burlap on hillsides and perforated landscaping fabrics on level areas.
    • Collect roof water with a rain barrel and use the collected water for the garden.