REGION : Campaign to Fight Dumping in Drains
Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica-based environmental group known for its grass-roots efforts at cleaning up local waters, will help launch a program next week to educate people about the dangers of dumping hazardous waste in storm drains, which empty into the ocean.
Under the so-called Gutter Patrol program, conducted in conjunction with the Los Angeles city and county public works departments, volunteers will place 65,000 stenciled signs reading “No Dumping, This Drains to Ocean” on storm drains across Los Angeles County. Volunteers will also hand out tip sheets on how to recognize hazardous waste.
The project is expected to be completed in two years.
More than 50 volunteers, environmentalists, politicians and celebrities will kick off the program March 24 at 11 a.m. at DeLongpre Park in Hollywood.
Urban storm water runoff contributes the largest amount of pollution to area beaches, Heal the Bay Executive Director Adi Liberman said. Rainwater washes fertilizers, motor oil, pet droppings and other pollutants into storm drains, which flush into the sea.
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