The Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds’ 2006 Homeowner's Guide to Stormwater Management sums it up this way: “When animal waste is left on the ground, rainwater or melting snow washes the pet waste into our storm drains or directly into our local creeks.
The disease-causing bacteria found in pet waste eventually flows from our local waterways into the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, our drinking water source. In addition to contaminating waterways with disease-carrying bacteria, animal waste acts like a fertilizer in the water, just as it does on land. This promotes excessive aquatic plant growth that can choke waterways and promote algae blooms, robbing the water of vital oxygen.”
Dog poo can be flushed down the toilet, to be processed in the sewage treatment system, disposed of in the trash, or buried in your yard. Never dispose of animal waste in storm drains!