Storm drains are important!
People walk past storm drains every day without giving them a thought.
Yet, storm drains deserve our attention! Storm drains prevent flooding by diverting rainwater from our streets and parking lots into a natural body of water. But when storm drains are clogged or misused, they deliver unwanted pollution directly to our streams, creeks, rivers, and lakes.
Will you help keep pollution out of our storm drains?
It is important to the health of our waterways that storm drains stay clear and free of litter, waste, and chemicals. We can each do our part to help keep storm drains working as they should:
Clear leafy debris and other material from the storm drain so water can flow into it.
Move your car or other obstructions when your community schedules street sweeping.
Never put anything down a storm drain. This includes: dog poop whether it is bagged or not, trash, cigarettes, hazardous wastes, such as household cleaners, unused paint, paint thinner, used oil, and lawn care chemicals.
Pick up after your pet and toss the waste in the trash.
Hang on to your leftover paints and pesticides and take them to the nearest household hazardous waste collection location.
Don’t dump outdated medicines down a storm drain.
Pick up litter so it never makes it to a storm drain.
Municipalities sweep the streets to keep their storm drain systems working properly. Portland has geared up for their fall sweeping, and other communities may be doing so as well.
Remember, we all live downstream!