EHS Students and Teachers Paint Around Storm Drains to Create Awareness
On Thursday, May 24th Everett High School Art teachers and students painted sea animals and flowers coming out of the storm drains at City Hall. This is part of the Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s aggressive campaign to reduce stormwater runoff and improve the quality of our rivers and streams.
Stormwater runoff is the largest contributor to water pollution in our rivers and streams. By reducing the amount of stormwater runoff you will reduce the amount of nutrients and pollutants being carried from streets, parking lots and roofs to rivers and streams. Nutrients lead to increased algae and plant growth, which robs marine life of oxygen and can lead to large fish kills.
The mayor has made the Malden and Mystic Rivers and streams a priority. He has instituted an aggressive street sweeping policy to reduce nutrients and sediments from street surfaces, offers a Rain Barrel Program, instituted a catch basin clean-out program and has proposed changes in zoning to reduce the amount of paved surfaces. In combination, these efforts reduce stormwater runoff, improve the quality of stormwater and recharges ground water sources, which reduces the potential for drought.
The Mayor stated, “These programs and policies are a great way to raise awareness of stormwater issues and provides residents an opportunity to do their part. My administration wants to continue to put energy toward improving the Malden and Mystic Rivers.”
In April, as part of Earth Day educational activities, volunteers placed eighty medallions on storm drains. The medallions highlighted and educated that water owing through storm drains lead to the Malden and Mystic Rivers.