LEWISTON — The Androscoggin Valley Stormwater Working Group, in association with Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District, didn’t hold its annual stormdrain stenciling event this year. Instead, the municipalities of Lewiston, Auburn, Lisbon and Sabattus will stencil stormwater drains while maintaining safe social distancing measures without the help of volunteers.
Androscoggin Valley SWCD and the Androscoggin Valley Stormwater Working Group will share information online to continue to spread the word about stormwater health and how the community can help protect water while staying safe.
This year, the city of Auburn conducted stenciling on June 28 on Fern, Holly and Josslyn streets. They stenciled 31 basins and hung door hangers.
The stencils mark the street near municipal drain inlets. 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 water bodies. 
Along the way, stormwater has collected pesticides and fertilizers, bacteria from pet waste, oil and petroleum, sediment, trash and cigarette butts. The stenciling is an effort to help educate the public of this process and to remind them not to dump down the drain.
Maine Department of Environmental Protection estimates that 40 to 70 percent of rain and snow that hits the ground leaves the average residential lot as stormwater runoff.
Additionally, illegal dumping waste or trash into the drainage system can create more pollution and clog drain 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 make a difference by following these five steps on their properties:
Build Healthy Soil: Use 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 rainstorms 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 Fertilizers and Pesticides: Use phosphorus-free or slow-release fertilizers. 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.
To find out ways you can help prevent pollution, check out www.yardscaping.org.
