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Riverside County, CA
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How dog waste affects local water quality in Riverside County

Diego Ramirez 2025-05-06 7 min

Most dog owners are doing their best. Shame doesn't change behavior. What helps is understanding the actual mechanism.

The watershed you live in

  • Santa Ana River watershed. Western county. Drains via Newport Bay.
  • Santa Margarita River watershed. Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar. Drains at Camp Pendleton.
  • Salton Sea watershed. Eastern county.
  • A meaningful portion of urban bacterial load has been traced to pet waste through DNA source tracking.

    What happens to uncollected waste

  • Surface runoff during rain. Half an inch in two hours carries waste into storm drains.
  • Irrigation runoff. Sprinklers that overshoot.
  • Soil leaching. Pathogens migrate into groundwater.
  • A single gram contains ~23 million fecal coliform bacteria. A 50-pound dog produces three-quarters of a pound a day.

    Specific local impairments

    Murrieta Creek, Temecula Creek, Lake Elsinore, and reaches of the Santa Ana River are on California's 303(d) list for bacterial indicators.

    What moves the needle

  • Pick up within 48 hours
  • Pay attention before rain
  • Don't bury it
  • Don't compost it at home
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