SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO-AM) The City of Sioux Falls is using storm drain art as a colorful way to raise awareness about water quality.
Epicosity is one of the organizations painting storm drain inlets downtown.
"The center of the inlet has the line from of a fishing pole heading down into the water and you can see a little worm down on the end of the fishing line." Epicosity's Ruth Sturm says there are also little multi-colored fish and a message that reads: only rain down the drain.
Sturm says until she got involved with this project, she wasn't really aware that the city's storm drain system is completely separate from the sanitary sewer system. When something goes down the storm drain it goes directly into the Big Sioux River as a potential pollutant.
"As the storm water washes over the pavement it carries with it everything the water picks up.", says City Sustainability Coordinator Jessica Lantgen, "this includes litter, pollutants, pet waste, and sediment—and the storm water discharges it into the waterways. Our hope is that the art on these storm drains will bring attention to their purpose and prevent some of the pollutants from being discharged back into the Big Sioux River.”
Other participating organizations include Coffea Roasterie, Co-op Natural Foods, Friends of the Big Sioux, Koch Hazard, Sioux Falls Design Center, and Raven Industries. Norberg Paints is providing the paint.