Leaving a Message in Downtown Clyde

Several volunteers stenciled a message on stormdrains downtown Clyde - “Don’t Dump Drains To Pigeon River.” - with brightly colored spray paint to make sure the message was visible to anyone walking by. 

Stormdrains transport stormwater from parking lots, driveways, rooftops, and other impervious surfaces to a nearby waterway without any treatment, so anything that rainwater picks up, such as oil, pesticide, dirt, fertilizers, and pet waste, gets dumped into the waterways we use for swimming, fishing, irrigating crops and drinking water. Stormwater runoff is the leading cause of pollution affecting our waterways nation-wide. Here are ways citizens can help prevent stormwater pollution:

• Never dump anything down a stormdrain.
• Pick up pet waste,
• Keep cars tuned to reduce leaking fluids,
• Apply fertilizer and pesticides as directed on the bag and never when heavy rain is expected,
• Wash cars on the lawn or use a car wash facility that recycles water,
• Install a rain garden or use a rain barrel to capture water from rooftops,
• Direct gutters into the yard or a forested area, not the street or driveway, and
• Vegetate exposed dirt.

Following these simple suggestions can make a big impact on water quality. Haywood County’s streams are some of the cleanest in the state but they are susceptible to pollution when people are careless.