TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Storm-Drain Dumping Targeted

ADVERTISEMENT

By ANGELA DELGADO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 21, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Cigarette butts. Oil and chemicals. Dirt and sand. Lawn clippings. Construction debris. Water.

Only one of these items is supposed to make its way into area storm drains, but Bay Crest Park residents say some neighbors aren't following that rule, and it is harming Tampa Bay.

"I don't think anybody would purposely change their oil from their vehicle and pour it into the canal," said resident Ken Broome. "Some people may not realize that if they pour something there in a storm drain it's simply going to run down the storm sewer out into the canal then into the Bay."

Today, volunteers from Bay Crest Park, Save Our Canals and the Boy Scouts of America are making their way through the Bay Crest community to educate neighbors about the effects of dumping garbage into storm drains. Their method: small signs and door hangers.

The signs - white 6-inch by 4-inch PVC ovals that read "No Trash in Drains. Keep Your Water Clean" - and doorhangers are provided by the Hillsborough County Stormwater Environmental Team as part of the Storm Drain Marking Program, which was founded more than a decade ago. They are also providing water-resistant glue for the signs, a storm drain tracking map, and stickers for kids that mimic the signs.

Broome, who is leading the effort in Bay Crest, said they will begin at 9 a.m. A group will go by truck to each of the 90 plus drains in the community and glue the signs near the drain openings. The Boy Scouts will follow with the doorhangers. Although the signs are meant to potentially stop a would-be polluter in their tracks, the doorhangers provide more information on the Hillsborough County ordinance that prohibits depositing litter in storm drains.

"We're actually hoping to affect some behavior change," said John McGee, environmental scientist with the county's public works department. "It sort of changes the norm for the community; that the community has identified this as something they don't accept."

"I don't know why they think that by throwing something down the stormwater drain it's going to disappear," said Brian Garry, Bay Crest resident and president of the Save Our Canals group. "We think that perhaps these little signs will shock somebody at the last minute and all of sudden a little light bulb will go off in their little brain."

"If we can get one person to stop, it'll be worth the effort," Garry said.

The Bay Crest community acquired the markers when Lynette Peel called the county and said her neighborhood was interested in placing the decals on storm drains, McGee said. McGee said the county provides signs to volunteers who want to place them in unincorporated Hillsborough County. Because the program has been in place for more than a decade, he couldn't state how many drains have signs, but 611 were glued on during the 2006-07 fiscal year and 648 have been added in 2007-08.

That number doesn't include Bay Crest Park's effort, he said. Each sign costs about $1.50 and the door hangers are less than a quarter, McGee said.

Anyone interested in the Storm Drain Marking Program should call the Hillsborough County Stormwater Environmental Team at (813) 272-5912 or visit www.hillsborough.wateratlas.org.

Reporter Angela Delgado can be reached at (813) 865-1501 or adelgado@tampatrib.com.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT