You may notice some messages to discourage littering popping up near storm sewers in Owen Sound soon.
City councillors approved a motion at their July 13 meeting to direct staff to work with interested community organizations to implement a storm drain stencilling program.
The motion was approved after a presentation from Suza Sarnecki of the Owen Sound Waste Watchers. Sarnecki told councillors volunteers picked up more than 3,600 items — most of which were cigarette butts — during a June 13 litter pick-up event downtown.
She says while not all of the butts were found in the gutter, many do end up being washed into city storm drains which flow directly into waterways without any treatment.
The city will provide paint required, and consult with the Owen Sound Waste Watchers on the locations the stencils will be painted and the specific style of the message.
Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy says the city is happy to cooperate with community groups that are doing things like this.
“The idea is to pick different potential high-use storm drains that we could send signals to people to think twice before they pour things down,” Boddy explains. “A great initiative from the waste watchers.”
Councillor Richard Thomas says in the 1990s there was a similar program in Owen Sound carried out by local schools, who stencilled fish on stormwater drains.
“This is not anything new in Owen Sound, but it's been a long time since anything's been done,” Thomas explains. “I think it's a great idea.”