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Schools Join in Drains CampaignSchool groups* from across the shire have been actively supporting Council’s Stormwater Education Campaign by painting images of platypus, fish and frogs on stormwater drain lids. By South Gippsland Shire Council - 22nd November 2004 - Back to News The venture is part of the Council’s Stormwater Education program. It involves stencilling the lids of our town’s stormwater drains with a local aquatic animal and message –‘Clean Drains, Healthy Rivers’. The main purpose of the drain stencilling activity is to provide a visual reminder to the community of the link between stormwater drains and our receiving water environments.
Most coastal and river pollution originates on land many kilometres from the water. As rainwater travels across hard surfaces, it picks up all kinds of pollutants in its path such as litter, chemicals and sediments. All this pollution is carried from our streets into stormwater drains, where it’s guided through a series of pipes before making its way into our rivers and beaches untreated. Pollutants in stormwater can kill fish and aquatic plants, and seriously pollute the environment where people like to swim, fish and relax.
The stencils are a highly visual reminder to the community that whatever they put down the stormwater drain ends up polluting our waterways.
We all have a role to play in ensuring our waterways are clean. Whenever people put something inappropriate down the drain - whether it is a cigarette butt, a plastic bag, oil, grass clippings or leaves - it has an impact on our local rivers and beaches.
Stencilling drains is one way of bringing about awareness and making sure that the pollution does not get in the drain in the first place. The Stormwater Education Program has been assisted by funding from the State Government, through EPA Victoria as part of the Victorian Stormwater Action Program.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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