Ever see this?
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| This one is in Minnesota, http://www.watersheddistrict.org |
Many of us have seen stencils like this on our local storm drains. But what exactly does it mean?
Exactly what it says. Gutters and storm drains are simple, basic, ancient technology. A hole in the road, a pipe buried in the ground, an outlet at the nearest water body. With very few exceptions, stormwater systems don't run stormwater through any kind of filter or purifier. It's a straight shot: road --> gutter --> catch basin --> underground pipe --> river/bay/harbor.
Which is why scenes like this...
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| from http://www.lowimpactdevelopment.org |
...lead to scenes like this, in Baltimore Harbor:
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Story at http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/
green/2010/03/talking_trash_in_bmore.html |
...and ultimately contribute to scenes like this, at Kamilo Beach, Hawaii:
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| Surf's up |
Thinking globally & acting locally, how do storm drains work in my part of the world, Saco, Maine? It so happens, Saco has some amazing resources available. One of these is a
public Global Information System that plots out all roads, sidewalks, traffic lights, streams, wooded areas, elevations, sewers, and, yes, storm drains! Here is the route from the stream at the edge of our condo, through storm drains passing under houses, then straight down Spring Street to its end in the Saco River.
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Does your city/town make this available too?
More and more do all the time. |
So this:
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| Culvert collecting water from bamboo-hidden stream |
...wends its way 8 or 9 blocks until it outflows here:
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At the foot of a parking lot behind a
nondescript workshop/office |
The grates on that stream culvert are large enough to let a beer can or quart-sized plastic jug in. And once they're in,
nothing can or will stop them from reaching the river. Even the smaller catch basins still let them in. Bottles, candy wrappers, plastic bags, tennis balls, tiddly-winks, chew toys, pacifiers, plastic flowers -- whatever you can picture accidentally (or not) ending up in a gutter -- will reach the river. From there, they will reach the ocean. That's how it works. In Saco, and in most other cities & towns all across the world. That's how this washes up on my beach:
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Antifreeze jug, lost into a culvert in mid-Coast
or Downeast Maine, finally reaches Saco Bay |
The day I visited my local drain outflow, August 3, was warm, sunny, quiet. The water trickled out lazily. I stood and watched for just a minute. And even then, the predictable sights started plopping out, one at a time.
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| The usual suspects |
This in 1 minute, from a stream/drain system that runs through residential neighborhoods with low foot traffic. I'm going to go back during the next rainstorm, to see what comes out then. Do I really want to know?
New plastic is being added to the Saco River, and Saco Bay, every minute. The same is true the world over. Does the phrase "thrown away" have any meaning when there is no "away"?
