Would you spend your Saturday morning scooping dog poop?
For one Anchorage couple, a recent dog park cleanup became an opportunity for a daytime date. They often stroll through University Lake Park, a popular off-leash dog park, but this time Morgan Yockey and Cadence Cogswell had returned with a goal.
“It was actually the first walk we did as a couple,” Cogswell said. “So it's a special trail to us. We just like to help keep it clean.”
There was plenty to clean up, and for good reason.
Dog poop and the bacteria in it are a health risk. The Anchorage Waterways Council hopes to help mitigate the problem by encouraging community members to participate in its “Scoop the Poop” events and to clean up after their dogs every day.
The nonprofit puts on volunteer-run events twice a year. The group partners with the city to keep local creeks and lakes clean and to do educational outreach.
Kaitlan McLallen, an outdoor educator with the Waterways Council, was handing out buckets and shovels to volunteers on a recent Saturday morning at University Lake, one of eight designated off-leash dog parks in Anchorage.
“Events like this are great, because probably everyone out here today has missed a poop from their dog,” McAllen said.
The city estimates that each of the roughly 65,000 dogs living in Anchorage produces about three-quarters of a pound of waste daily. That adds up to more than 24 tons of dog poop every day.
Of course, not all of that ends up in local waterways, but enough of it does that it’s a major concern for people like Aubrey Schoneboom, an environmental specialist with the city.
One of the biggest contributors to pollution in Anchorage waterways is fecal coliform bacteria, Schoneboom said.
“Poop is not sanitary, and so when it gets into the water, it adds bacteria and organisms that grow that aren't healthy to the environment, other living organisms, humans, or other animals,” Schoneboom said.
High levels of coliform can deplete oxygen in the water, suffocating fish and aquatic animals. They can also create fertilizer for algae blooms, and detection of coliform bacteria suggests that illness-causing viruses are likely also present in the water.
Once the contaminants are in the waterways, it is nearly impossible to remove, McLallen added.
“It's not like an oil spill where there's all this technology where you can really kind of contain it,” McLallen said. “Once it's in our waterways, it spreads and it causes lots of issues. So it's really about preventing it before it ever gets in there.”
There are a few reasons why pet owners might not pick up after their furry friends.
At off-leash parks, it can be difficult to keep track of a dog, McAllen said. There can also be a misconception among some dog owners that their pet’s waste is “natural” and “good for the environment,” Schoneboom added.
The city does not have a dedicated team cleaning up dog parks, McLallen said. So, she said, dog owners need to do their part.
“We can't be at every park all the time, McAllen said. “So if people don't pick up dog poop, our parks are gonna get nasty.”
The Waterways Council collected more than half a ton of waste within four hours across three dog parks during the April 25 event.
The Council is planning to schedule another Scoop the Poop event for later in the summer.
