Stenciling Storm Drains & Protecting Waterways and Wildlife

I never gave much thought to the sewer storm drains growing up. It was implied that it was not really different than a garbage can. If you can't find a garbage can, then throw it into the sewer - that's what I did growing up and into adulthood. I always figured it was better than the alternative of just throwing it on the ground. (Of course, the real alternative would have been to hold onto it until you find a proper garbage can, but that never occurred to me.) If someone had only told me sooner that I was potentially harming (or killing) fish and wildlife, and contaminating our waterways with all the trash I'd thrown into the sewer in my lifetime, I never would've done it - or at least stopped sooner than I did.

Following up on yesterday's post about medicine disposal and why not to put it into the drains/sewer/trash, I learned today about something that the City of Seattle is doing to help raise awareness.

Apparently, you can become a volunteer to stencil a storm drain with:

Dump No Waste
Drains to Stream, Lake or Bay

I've actually seen similar stencils around town, now that I think of it:

 If every drain had a stencil like that, no one could claim ignorance as to where the waste is going. I think it's a brilliant idea!

From the Seattle Public Utilities Website:

"Some people believe that storms drain carry the waste to a sewage treatment for cleanup. Not true! Some drains go directly into the nearest stream or lake or Puget Sound, and so do the hazardous chemicals, pesticides, paints, antifreeze and used motor oil people pour down storm drains every year.

The Seattle Aquarium estimates that more than 2 million gallons of used motor oil ends up in Puget Sound each year. That’s enough to fill a medium-sized tanker! But even small amount of oil can smother fish eggs and developing shellfish in our lakes and streams. Just 1 pint of oil causes a slick the size of 2 football fields."

Isn't that disturbing?  I'm going to call to become a volunteer to stencil drains in my neighborhood, and hope that those of you in Seattle will do so as well.

And if you're not in Seattle, I urge you to consider calling your local municipality and see if they have a similar program, or if you can start one. Or at the very least, think of the environment, consider this information and do NOT use storm drains for trash disposal.