City officials say the top pollutant in the Santa Fe River is E. coli, a bacteria largely found in feces. The top culprit?
"It was by far the highest for dogs," said Claire Jordy, a project manager in the city of Santa Fe's River and Watershed Section. Although, the data isn't new. She was citing the results of a 2017 DNA tracing study.
As part of the city's stormwater discharge permit with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the River and Watershed Section of the Public Works Department is surveying dog owners about their opinions and habits when it comes to dog waste: Who picks up the poop?
The survey, open through September, asks those who don't pick up poop in public who they believe is responsible for the task and why they don't do it themselves.
Jordy said the responses will give the city some insight on the type of education it should provide to dog owners about why they need to clean up after their pets.
"I do think it's very different if people think it's natural and will decompose, versus if they think it's stinky and gross and don't want to touch it," she said of dog waste.
The Santa Fe survey is similar to one conducted in Bernalillo County seeking feedback on a humorous educational campaign that reminds dog owners "there is no poop fairy," Jordy said.
"Your pooch's poop doesn't magically disappear," an ad states. "If you don't pick it up, no one will."
While the campaign is playful, there's nothing funny about E. coli, which can cause severe illness.
"It really is a serious issue," said Mori Hensley, executive director of the nonprofit Santa Fe Watershed Alliance, which advocates for the watershed's health.
Jordy said many participants of the Bernalillo County survey thought the primary reason for picking up poop was aesthetic, not environmental — they believed the waste would decompose harmlessly into the natural landscape.
People also cited a lack of public trash bag dispensers and trash cans. Providing such amenities can be a challenge, Jordy said, because they require staff to maintain them.
People also might not understand that everything in the watershed is interconnected, she said, noting heavy rainstorms can wash things far from the river into the waterway and become a contaminant downstream.
"It's kind of hard to see how one poop is going to get to the river, but it all is a cumulative impact," she said.
Hensley said many people may have a rural mentality about dog waste in Santa Fe, not seeing the harm in leaving dog poop outdoors.
However, she said, "the reality is that we are now in an urban environment. If a city of 100,000 people are all thinking that, suddenly that waste really starts to to pile up — no pun intended."
Jordy has distributed flyers about the survey to pet grooming clinics, veterinarians' offices, pet supply stores and dog parks. There's an incentive to participate — a raffle for dog treats and supplies from Shine Pet Food Co. and other local companies.
Jordy said one of the challenges is how to get people to pick up dog poop when their dog is not on a leash, which is not allowed on sidewalks or trails but is permitted at city dog parks.
One woman she spoke to at a dog park said she will pick up other dog poop she finds on the ground if she doesn't locate her own dog's waste, which Jordy thought was a great idea.
Hensley, a dog owner herself, said she loves walking her dog along the river and understands why people love letting their dogs run free to explore the outdoors — but it creates problems for the already fragile river ecosystem.
She said the survey is an important reminder that everyone in Santa Fe is connected to the watershed, no matter where they live.
"Even if you can't see the river," she said, "you are impacting it by your choices."
