BATTLE GROUND — On September 16, members of the Battle Ground Art Alliance lent their talents to create art around storm drains in Battle Ground.
The art, located on Main Street in Old Town, serves as a reminder that what enters storm drains affects the health of our local streams, Woodin and Mill Creeks and that all of us play a very important role in protecting our local and regional rivers and streams.
The project was a collaborative effort of the Battle Ground Art Alliance whose members envisioned and created the art, the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership that provided the supplies, and the city of Battle Ground.
There are nearly 2,000 catch basins in the city collecting stormwater runoff — rain that picks up and mixes with what is already on the ground — oil and grease from vehicles, cigarette butts and litter, pet waste, and other contaminants common to developed areas. There are simple measures we can take, however, to minimize the impacts. Here are just a few:
- Clean up after your pet, always discard the waste in a trashcan — do not wash it into a storm drain.
- Use care in draining and collecting vehicle fluids and always recycle. Never pour fluids or solvents on the ground, in a street gutter or storm drain.
- Consider not washing your car at home. Take it to a commercial car wash that has a recycle system and discharges wastewater into the sanitary sewer for treatment.
- Don’t litter. Find an appropriate trash receptacle for cigarette butts and garbage.
Discover more ways to minimize the impact of stormwater pollution at www.cityofbg.org/stormwater-ed.
The city of Battle Ground thanks the Battle Ground Art Alliance and the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership for their efforts to make a positive impact on the health and aesthetics of our community.
Information provided by city of Battle Ground.