Many people are unaware that polluted water that washes into outdoor drains does not end up at a treatment plant to be sanitized before being flushed into rivers and eventually the sea.
In fact, water polluted by sediment, animal waste, oil or other debris washed from sidewalks and driveways, and toxic household and industrial compounds directly impact fish and their habitat.
The yellow outline of a fish painted next to thousands of drains across Langley are reminders of this fact.
Krya Stephens, 10, and her 12-year-old brother Matthew, know the significance of those yellow fish.
“[It’s] so people can get an understanding of what they are dumping into natural streams,” Matthew said, adding that most people think that waste water goes to treatment plants.
“It’s important not to do that because fish could die,” Kyra said.
While their Dad was at work, Krya and Matthew spent much of Thursday with their mother, Lisa, painting the yellow fish symbols near drains in the Blacklock neighbourhood of the City, where they live.
The Stephens family is involved with Scouts Canada, and so their involvement in painting the iconic fish alongside storm drains acknowledges the organization’s mandate of environmental awareness, Lisa said
The stencils, paint and brushes were provided by the Langley Environmental Partners Society, which is asking residents in the City and Township to join the fish painting campaign.
Just how serious is the pollution? It takes only one drop of motor oil to turn 50 litres of water unlivable for water species, said Lina Azeez of LEPS, which is giving prizes for the most drains marked will be awarded.
To find out more and to collect storm drain marking materials contact Azeez at lazeez@tol.ca or 604-532-3517, or check www.leps.bc.ca/events.
LEPS is a non-profit, partnership-driven organization that was founded in 1993 to achieve the mission of protecting and restoring the natural environment through education, co-operation and action.
Lisa Stephens helps her children, Kyra and Matthew, paint yellow fish by a drain near their Langley City home.
