Storm drain decals educate public
Published Aug. 31, 2004
Little blue fish have invaded Columbia.
A new university, city and county effort is teaching people where storm water eventually ends up by placing decals on storm drains, said Mona Menezes, project coordinator for the Community Storm Water Project.
There are 160 decals around campus located on storm drains. This year, 200 decals will be added in the city and 50 in the county.
"Anything you throw down in a street, especially cigarette butts, can float into the storm drain," Menezes said. "However, what people don't realize is that the water drains into Flat Branch Creek, which runs through Peace Park, and along the Katy Trail."
The green and blue decals feature a fish and state, "No Dumping, Drains To Stream"as well as "Report Spills." Although all the decals are similar, each entity purchased the decals separately and the decals include different contact information based on the jurisdiction, Menezes said.
The decals are part of the Storm Water Phase II Final Ruling, which is a part of the Clean Water Act, Menezes said. The program began in 2002 in Columbia but has been in effect in major cities such as St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield, Mo. since the early 1990s.
"The new storm drain decals will help people learn that water entering the city's storm drains won't go to waste treatment plants but into our streams instead," MU Director of Environmental Affairs Jan Weaver said. "The new decals will help clean up litter on the streets as well as keep our streams clean."
In addition to the litter on the street, Menezes said she is educating local restaurants about how dumping anything from leftover oil, charcoal or even mop water eventually ends up in storm drains and streams. The university is also working to educate campus dining facilities about the hazards of dumping waste in city streets.
"Since I'm from the Ozarks, I did not realize that clean water even existed in urban areas," Menezes said. "And we are continuously polluting it without even knowing."
Around campus, the decals are still in the pilot stage. If the decals remain in good condition through the winter, all university storm drains will eventually have decals on them, said Todd Houts, assistant director of MU's environmental health and services.
"By putting down the disks, we are serving a multitude of purposes, because they prevent people from dumping into the stream as well as serve as a colorful reminder that our daily practices should not end up in our streams," Houts said.