The White River Alliance is partnering with Golars LLC for storm water outreach and education Friday, Aug. 25. The Storm Water Action Team event is 8 a.m. to noon in North, South, West and East Harbour subdivisions.
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Storm Water Action Team events consist of approximately five people who will work in a specific neighborhood to conduct work on storm drains. They start by cleaning off any debris before preparing the drain to place a “Dump No Waste – Drains to Waterway” storm drain marker. The city uses four-inch stainless steel markers and painted stencils to remind residents that marked drains flow directly to the waterway.
“Storm drains are not like sanitary sewers, storm drains take rain water from streets and yards and discharge it to the closest natural waterway. Sanitary sewers take your indoor plumbing to the waste water treatment plant to remove all the bad stuff,” said Noblesville MS4 Program Manager Tim Stottlemyer. “It’s not uncommon for the city to find people using storm drains to dump waste of all kinds.”
A few of the team members will be placing door hangers at the homes near each storm drain. The door hanger has a simple graphic showing how storm drains work and why they are being marked with the message. It also encourages the residents to keep an eye on the drain for problems and the Adopt-a-storm drain program.
“At its core, this is a public education and outreach campaign so residents understand that these drains are connected directly to our waterways and in the older neighborhoods they have no treatment,” said Stottlemyer. “We chose the Harbour neighborhoods because of their proximity to Morse Reservoir. It’s easy for residents to really understand that what they do around their home can have a big impact on water quality for our lakes, rivers and streams.”
For more information on ways to make a difference, visit indiana.ClearChoicesCleanWater.org or e-mail tstottlemyer@noblesville.in.us.