The Question

Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:13:30 -0500
From: Ronald Ohrel <rohrel@hotmail.com>
Subject: [volmonitor] Correlating storm drain stencils with WQ improvement

Hello Everyone:

Please see the email below. I can't recall any studies that attempt to show direct correlation between storm drain stenciling projects and improved water quality, but I may be wrong. Can anyone direct me to such studies?

Thanks,

Ron Ohrel

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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:27:28 -0500
Subject: storm drain question

I am working with another resident in my village to start a storm drain stenciling project in Kings Contrivance. We're making our case to the Board in about 3 weeks and I'm trying to put a presentation (use that term loosely) together. I was hoping to find some type of evidence/research/hard numbers that showed painting "Don't Dump" on storm drains actually led to less waste in local watersheds. Ideally, I'd find an article that said "CIty XYZ painted 'Don't Dump' on storm drains and watershed waste levels dropped 50 percent." So far I haven't found that. There are mostly wonderful statements like, "Storm drain stenciling creates community awareness and encourages people to think twice before dumping waste in storm drains." I agree with that, but when you are asking for money and permission to deface public property that argument might not hold up so well. Do you know of any groups or agencies that have actually monitored waste levels in this way? I checked the CBF website and didn't find any specific numbers. Any leads would be helpful.

Responses

Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:12:45 -0700
From: "Horn, Barb" <Barb.Horn@state.co.us>

My guess is you won’t find any – and that is because we collectively in our efforts have not HAD to measure actual water quality improvements to get funding for this type of project. We don’t think about measurable results. In addition, we also have been operating on the false assumption that knowledge will change behavior and that will result in cleaner water. The community based social marketing movement has proven, scientifically that this old environmental assumption from awareness to attitude to behavior change is magic and all we have to do is increase awareness to get change. Not true. People often know what to do, and even want to do it, but simply have to many barriers to “do” whatever is the right thing. CBSM is a scientific way to determine the barriers to specific behavior you want changed, then you design your information and education outreach at those behaviors (like no oil changes on driveways), not the end effect we want (cleaner water). Finally, the last thing we don’t do well is actually design monitoring efforts to answer specific questions – my guess is very little monitoring has ever occurred in conjunction with one of these storm drain marking efforts. We all need to do a better job at creating a story to tell --- its not that what we are doing is not necessarily effective, but we really don’t know we assume. Check out CBSM, take a class or two if you can. It may save your program.

Barb Horn
Water Resource Specialist
Colorado Division of Wildlife
151 E 16th Ave
Durango, CO 81301
Vc: 970.382.6667
Fx: 970.247.4785

Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:32:27 -0600
From: Steven Witmer <switmer@ci.johnston.ia.us>
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Correlating storm drain stencils with WQ improvement

This may be of some use, although it doesn’t have exactly the information you’re looking for. It does discuss the impact on public awareness based on a study done by the University of Wisconsin, though.

http://campuswaterquality.ifas.ufl.edu/water/drainlabels.html

Hi

Yes, I have copies of the UW study, though it's about social impacts
not
water quality impacts. I can send a copy to interested parties.

Kris Stepenuck
Wisconsin Volunteer Stream Monitoring Coordinator
445 Henry Mall, Rm 202
Madison, WI 53706-1577
Phone: 608-265-3887
Fax: 608-262-2031

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:02:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kelly Stettner <blackrivercleanup@yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Correlating storm drain stencils with WQ improvement

A fascinating (and very telling) little tidbit appeared on a weblog that I visit regularly called "Water Words That Work" by Erik Eckl. Seems a community group stencilled the storm drains in their area, and thought they'd get the message out by hitting every other drain. A few weeks later, one of the volunteers noticed a man walking from drain to drain with a bucket of used engine oil from his truck. He finally stopped, announcing "Ah, ha -- I found one that DOESN'T drain to the river!"

Black River Action Team (BRAT)
45 Coolidge Road
Springfield, VT 05156
blackrivercleanup@yahoo.com

Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:27:15 -0500
From: Linda Green <LGreen@uri.edu>

Hi,

I heartily recommend that folks check out Waterwordsthatwork.com to learn better how to get across the message we are trying to. Specifically about storm drains, check out this link to a funny, but unfortunately apparently true story. It doesn’t answer your question, or does it….

http://waterwordsthatwork.com/2008/02/19/another-funny-story/

Linda Green
URI Watershed Watch Program Director
URI Cooperative Extension Water Quality
College of the Environment and Life Sciences
CIK, 1 Greenhouse Road
Kingston, RI 02881-0804
401-874-2905
www.uri.edu/ce/wq/ww/
www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer

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