You can’t see the Space Needle, Pike Place Market or the Washington State Ferries from downtown Redmond. But make no mistake. Puget Sound Starts Here.

The City of Redmond is one of about 60 jurisdictions in Western Washington — both cities and counties — banding together in a group called STORM, to spread that message. They’re also sharing knowledge about individual practices that can collectively reduce stormwater pollution throughout the entire region.

About 140,000 pounds of toxic material goes into Puget Sound every day, said Peter Holte, habitat stewardship coordinator for Redmond’s natural resources department and the city’s spokesperson for the Puget Sound Starts Here campaign.

Stormwater runoff from roofs, streets, sidewalks and driveways in communities such as Redmond flows into drains on the side of roads and trickles into streams, rivers, lakes and yes, Puget Sound.

“Redmond people say, ‘I’m not part of Puget Sound’ but our streams connect to Lake Washington and those drains are a portal,” Holte stated.

“The public thinks most (pollution) comes from industry but the majority is from little, tiny contributions by numerous people,” he explained. “The Department of Ecology estimates that major highways are the dirtiest areas but the sheer amount of residential land gives many little things we’re doing, contributing to pollution.”

Such as?

When you wash your car in your driveway, you’re releasing two pollutants into the stormwater drains: soap and the grease or grime that is trapped within the soap.

One of the smartest things we can do to save the Sound is to take our vehicles to commercial car washes, said Holte.

Fixing your vehicles’ oil or fluid leaks is another useful action.

“Imagine that every car you see today drops one or two — and we’re talking about hundreds or thousands of cars,” Holte pointed out. “It adds up.”

Picking up pet waste is also essential — not just on public property, but on your own lawn, said Holte.

“We’re concerned about bacteria where the lawn is saturated and the water goes into the storm drain,” he noted.

Plus, citizens are urged to reduce use of yard chemicals, or use compost or organic fertilizer according to instructions on the labels and sweep spills back onto the lawn, said Holte.

“Those are some simple steps people can take, but it’s a long-term process, like getting people used to recycling,” he added.

That started with cans and newspapers back in the 1970s. Now glass and even food scraps are part of most people’s recycling routines, said Holte. And it has made an enormous difference.

“Sixty five percent of waste from Redmond now goes to compost instead of a landfill,” Holte said.

By embracing the Puget Sound Starts Here motto, “our hope is that over time, people will take on these behaviors and pass them on until it becomes the norm,” he explained.

Among community outreach and eduction measures in Redmond, Holte said his department partners with Nature Vision to teach children about maintaining healthy streams and sponsors volunteer events where neighbors can pitch in to restore the habitat at local parks, trails and waterways.

For more information, visit www.pugetsoundstartshere.org and http://www.redmond.gov/insidecityhall/publicworks/environment/education2.asp