Just about everyone contributes to this problem, but very few are aware of what they are doing. First of all, most people still associate storm drains on the streets with sewers. Not all that long ago, this was the case. Sewers carried water and anything that happened to get tossed into it directly to a river or a body of water, but now, things have changed.

Today there are two distinct systems: a waste water system and a storm water system. The waste water system is closed and it carries waste water from homes, offices and factories to a water treatment plant where pollutants are removed before the water is allowed to return to the environment. The storm water system is an open system which collects runoff from streets, roads, parking lots, etc. and carries it directly to the watershed without passing through a treatment plant.

As its name implies, the storm water system is in place to control flooding from storms. But in practice it is used for much more. No one thinks twice about the water running down the gutter while they wash their car in the driveway. But that water is carring all kinds of chemicals and resideue that is never found in rainwater. Water is used heavily at construction sites to clean equipment. If it is allowed to enter the storm water system, it also is compromising the system.

Even water from watering the lawn that reaches the gutter can contribute to the problem by carrying chemicals from fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides off to the Bay.

Very little of this pollution is done wantonly. It is largely from thoughtlessness, from not thinking about where that water is going. So most of it can be eliminated if people just think about what is happening when they use water that goes down a storm drain instead of into a drain connected to the waste water system. The storm drain marking program is directed at helping people see how readily they can help reduce the problem.

The Friends of St. Andrew Bay (FSAB) is partnering with Bay County and UF/IFAS Extension to launch a county-wide program to enlist public assistance in reducing contamination of the Bay traced to effluents from municipal stormwater drainage systems. Water from these systems is ranked near the top of the list of sources of pollutants that reach the Bay.

FSAB volunteers will canvas neighborhoods across the county to complete two tasks: first, they will put a brightly colored label on every storm drain in the neighborhood and second, they'll leave a brochure in every house outlining the problem and showing people how they can help, Training session for volunteers are being organized for this summer and fall. If you'd like to lend a hand with this important project, please call Alice Guay at 215-5590.