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Volunteer - Storm Drain Labeling
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- What is Storm Drain Labeling?
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- You can help protect our local streams, lakes,
and wetlands. Butler County needs volunteers to tag storm drains
with a marker that says "No Polluting , Drains To Local
Waterways." Storm drain labeling is a great community action
project that raises public awareness about the importance of
keeping surface water clean and helps to significantly reduce
surface water pollution.
Everything you will need is provided free of charge. Volunteer
groups can stencil in their own neighborhood or ask for maps
and a chosen location.
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- E-mail [email protected]
or call 513-887-3720 for more information about volunteering
to stencil storm drains, or look at the topics below.
Who Can Participate?
- Families:
Storm Drain Labeling is a great family outing that teaches community
involvement and helps the natural environment.
- Homeowner Associations: Labeling the storm drains in your subdivision can
help protect nearby rivers and ponds that you and your neighbors
enjoy.
- School Groups: Classrooms can stencil the storm drains near their
school as part of a water cycle unit.
- Scouting Groups: Boy and Girl Scouts can do Storm Drain labeling with
their troop as a service project.
- Service Organizations: Storm Drain Labeling is great for Kiwanis, Rotary,
Garden, Women's, Men's and other adult clubs looking for community
service projects.
- Anyone else that is interested!: Contact us and we can suggest a location.
- How Simple is it to Tag a Drain?
Contact Lynn White at the Butler Soil and Water Conservation
District at 513-785-6666 for resources and to choose a location
and date to do the storm drain tagging.
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- On the day of the event follow these simple
steps:
- Using a wire brush, scrub the area of the
storm drain that you plan to stick the marker on. Then dust the
area clean.
- Create a spiral shape on the back of the
marker with the glue that is provided.
- Stick to storm drain by pressing firmly.
Why is Storm Drain Labeling Important?
Storm drains connect your property directly to nearby waterways.
Living on a city street is like living right on the waterfront.
Everything that washes down a storm drain from a yard or street
winds up in local lakes, rivers or streams - not the sewage treatment
plant.
Many people think that water pollution is mostly caused by big
business or large government facilities-places with pipes leading
into the river. These are known as "point source" polluters.
However, in recent years these sources have greatly reduced their
negative impact on water quality. As a result, storm water run
-off is now one of the leading causes of surface water pollution.
In comparison to big facilities with identifiable pipes ("point-source"
polluters), run-off is a "non-point" source of pollution.
That is, the ultimate source of the pollution cannot be identified.
These pollutants are used on lawns, left on driveways and roads,
and allowed to go down gutters into storm drains.
Pollutants that come from "non-point" sources include:
- Street litter
- Pet wastes and other debris
- Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, yard
waste and other lawn care residues
- Motor oil, gasoline, transmission fluid,
anti-freeze and other substances that leak from cars onto driveways
and parking lots.
- Storm water pollution is also caused by illegal
dumping, like pouring paint or oil into a storm drain. In fact,
just one quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000 gallons of water!
As part of Phase II of the Clean Water Act, cities, townships
and municipalities are asked to monitor and control the pollution
that is released to waterways and ground water. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) recommends labeling (tagging) under the
new Phase II Storm Water Rule requirements for Public Education
and Outreach, Public Participation/Involvement and Illicit discharge
detection & elimination.
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CONTACT
INFORMATION
Bob
Lentz
513.785.4120
[email protected]
Butler County Storm Water District
1921 Fairgrove Avenue
Hamilton, Ohio 45011
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