Androscoggin stormwater pollution work is ongoing, without volunteers

LEWISTON — While the annual Androscoggin Valley Stormwater Working Group education and stenciling event was canceled, the group is still making sure area property owners are aware of how to curtail water pollution.
Held in association with Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District, the event is normally held at Festival Plaza in Auburn in early June, and usually enlists local volunteers to stencil stormwater drains in Lewiston, Auburn, Lisbon and Sabattus.
Those present discuss clean water and municipal stormwater drainage systems. The volunteers then split up to stencil streets in the four municipality.
Stenciling is still taking place this year, while maintaining safe social distancing and without the help of volunteers. Androscoggin Valley SWCD and the Androscoggin Valley Stormwater Working Group are sharing information online to continue to spread the word about stormwater health and how communities can help protect water while still staying safe.
The stencils mark the street near municipal drainage inlets (catch basins). Stormwater is precipitation that doesn’t soak into the ground; rain that flows from rooftops to lawns, across driveways and into sidewalks and roads is collected by storm drains and discharged, untreated, into local bodies of water. Along the way, stormwater has collected pesticides and fertilizers, bacteria from pet waste, oil and petroleum, sediment, trash and cigarette butts. This stenciling event is an effort to help educate the public of the process and to remind people not to dump down the drain. Maine Department of Environmental Protection estimates that 40-70 percent of rain and snow that hits the ground leaves the average residential lot as stormwater runoff.
Additionally, illegally dumping waste or trash into the drainage system can create more pollution and clog drainage systems, creating backups, nuisance flooding, and requires expensive cleaning operations. Public engagement in pollution prevention, such as environmentally sensitive lawn care, can greatly assist municipalities in these costly clean-ups which fall on taxpayers.
Residents can still make a difference by following five steps on their property:
Build Healthy Soil: By using organic material and mulch, soil will increase its water retention and will minimize stormwater runoff.
Mow Better: Taller grass helps maintain healthy soil, which absorbs more water, resulting in less polluted runoff from lawns. Leave lawn clippings for natural fertilizer.
Practice Smart Watering: Plan plant/lawn watering around rain events and use automated systems to reduce the amount of property runoff. Give plants just what they need but not too much.
Think Twice Before Using Fertilizer and Pesticide: Use phosphorus-free or slow-release fertilizer. Phosphorus and pesticides and cumulatively contaminate water bodies when they drain into them.
Practice Yardscaping: Use native plants and group plants together that need similar amounts of water.
For more information on ways to help prevent pollution and protect water, visit www.yardscaping.org.

PHOTOS: Lewiston-Auburn stormwater stenciling. (Submitted photos)