Dear Residents of Barrington,
The Town is asking you to pitch in to protect the public waters of the Town of Barrington through environmentally sound care of your lawns and gardens, and by adhering to a 2020 Town Ordinance limiting the use of certain fertilizers that degrade local waters.
Barrington lies within the Barrington-Palmer-Warren Rivers watershed. The public waters of the town are one of its defining features and a vital resource for ecological, historical, recreational, aesthetic, and economic purposes. Despite the many improvements that have been implemented to protect these waters, activities carried out within Barrington have resulted in substantial degradation of Barrington's public waters.
Ordinance No. 2020-17 – Protection of Public Waters from Nutrient Pollution was enacted to “conserve resources and protect our environment by regulating the outdoor application of nitrogen and phosphorus-based fertilizers in order to reduce the overall amount of excess nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Town’s public waters.”
Please note Ordinance 2020-17 prohibits the application of nitrogen and phosphorus-based fertilizers within 100 feet of a public water body from October 31 – April 1 unless specifically approved by the Town Council. The ordinance defines certain terms, such as fertilizer, impervious surface, controlled nutrient, and turf, and carries fines for violations.
This is an important step towards conserving resources, and we urge all residents to comply with the ordinance and help protect our environment.
For more information, visit the Fertilizer Ordinance webpage.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
The Town of Barrington
