Phosphorus Bans to Clean Water

The fair state of Wisconsin is on the brink of passing a ban on phosphorus in lawn fertilizers. The ban would prohibit stores from displaying certain fertilizers which are blamed for dangerous algae blooms in lakes. The algae bloom problem has become so toxic that dogs have died and people suffer serious skin damage–fish and plant life also get choked out and die from algae that grows uninhibited with the run-off of phosphorus rich fertilizers used on lawns. Phosphorus is plant food, and while it’s not the only source of problems for lakes and streams, it’s an easy ingredient to address. The state ban would still allow fertilizers with phosphorus to be sold in certain instances–for new lawns or for phosphorus poor soils. But the ban would apply to all mowed grasses, including golf courses.

The primary critics of this bill complain that stores will pay more to keep phosphorus fertilizers in back rooms and not get to display them. One wonders if similar arguments were used by pharmacies when drugs like Sudafed were taken off shelves and put behind counters to reduce easy access for meth makers.

The only brand of fertilizer getting a break from this law is Milorganite, which contains 2% phosphorus from an organic source and leeches more slowly into the water than synthetic fertilizers.

Wisconsin’s statewide phosphorus ban isn’t the first attempt by lawmakers to protect waterways–Minnesota and parts of Michigan have passed phosphorus bans. Even with the argument that many other pollutants contaminate our lakes, rivers and streams, the ease with which this ban passed combined with strong water conservation laws in Nevada, California, Georgia and Florida send clear signals to the landscape industry that their products and practices have to change with the times to be more responsible to the environment beyond a person’s back fence.