Making yards green, and healthy for all

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) --

But spring really is coming, and with it, the rush to have that emerald green lawn.

Dr. Diane Lewis, an avid gardener and kidney specialist who says she "really knows water," wants us to think before we break out the weedkillers, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Since the enactment of the Clean Water Act, industrial pollution of the nation's waterways and drinking water has dropped dramatically.

Now, the big danger comes at home.

She points to a U.S Fish & Wildlife Service report, which shows that homeowners are the biggest danger to the nation's drinking water, that they are now using 10 times more harmful chemicals than farmers.

"Farmers know how to use them in the right proportions," says Dr. Lewis, whereas homeowners think more is better when it comes to weed and pest control.

A 2013 study from the U.S. Geological Survey found lawn and garden chemicals in every stream, river, and lake, and in about half of our well water.

She says, "We're at a tipping point with these dangerous chemicals."

"They don't just disappear," she added.

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Making yards green, and healthy for all