Stormwater | Project Profile

To observe Earth Day 2001 and improve their neighborhoods, middle-school students in Southeast Portland, OR, took to the streets in April marking storm drains with plastic reflective markers–"No Dumping, Drains to Creek"–that discourage the dumping of waste down the drains. The storm-drain marking activity followed an in-classroom educational and interactive session about pollution from nonpoint sources.

Hands-On Program

Scott de Ritter, an environmental scientist with the Portland-based company Stormwater Management Inc., taught Sellwood Middle School and Environmental Middle School students where stormwater runoff comes from, what pollutants are commonly found in the runoff, and what the students and their families can do to decrease pollution in local waterways. He designed a hands-on class presentation, complete with white lab coat, to show students how to sample stormwater containing commonly found pollutants such as soap. Nonpoint-source pollutants of concern in the Portland area are primarily associated with roadways, such as oil and grease; copper, zinc, and other metals; and total suspended solids or trash.

Following the lesson, an army of students in Earth Day T-shirts fanned out into the neighborhood to locate storm drains and apply the plastic markers. Approximately 50 storm drains in Southeast Portland were marked. To get the word out to the neighborhood residents, the students also hung flyers on the front doors of the neighborhood houses explaining stormwater pollution and what neighbors can do to prevent stormwater pollution. Stormwater Management sponsored the two-day activity as part of its public education and outreach program, donating time and materials.

"It’s important to help other people realize what they can do to prevent the stormwater pollution I see everyday," says de Ritter. "Kids, and I think many adults, have very little idea of the cumulative effect common pollutants have in our waterways."

Plastic markers were chosen over traditional stenciling because the paint used in stenciling eventually wears off and travels down the very storm drain it is designed to protect. The das Curb Markers, affixed with das Curb Marker Adhesive, should stay in place for years without washing away or needing additional adhesive. The students will periodically monitor the markers during the school year. The students will also be looking at the types of pollutants that head down those storm drains and thinking about ways to prevent them.

An Annual Event

Heidi Perry, whose sixth-and seventh-grade science class at Sellwood Middle School participated, has looked for ways to get students involved in their neighborhood and to serve the community. "This was a great project for the students," remarks Perry. "They were able to step outside and apply what they had just learned in the classroom. The students look forward to monitoring the markers they have placed." Stormwater Management plans continue the activity annually in Portland.

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