Iowa DNR: Community Improvement Opportunities

Storm sewer stenciling is an easy and highly visible public awareness activity to inform Iowans of the connection between the land and water. Nearly all storm sewers discharge untreated storm water and anything carried by runoff directly into Iowa streams and lakes. By stenciling a standard phrase such as "Do Not Dump Drains To Stream", the direct connection between our actions and water quality can be made.

Dumping used motor oil, antifreeze, paint, pet waste and other materials into storm sewers is much the same as standing on the bank and pouring them directly into our streams or lakes. Fertilizing your lawn before a heavy rain or washing your car in the driveway also directly pollutes the streams and lakes in which we swim, fish and obtain our drinking water with high amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, metals, petroleum by-products and other hazardous materials.

Raising citizen awareness of the actions we take on land and the impact it has on our rivers and lakes is easy to achieve. Storm sewer stenciling activities cost very little, greatly heightens citizen awareness, and builds community pride. Storm stenciling is a community service project that can be accomplished by persons of all ages including school environmental groups, girl and boy scout troops, neighborhood associations, civic groups, or church groups.

If you are interested in starting a storm sewer stenciling project click on the link below for step by step instructions and a complete list of materials needed.

Intrstructions and Material List (*.pdf file)

Click on the links below to print stencil templates.

Stencil 1 (*.pdf file)

Stencil 2 (*.pdf file) sewer_stencil1

DNR Contacts
Kathleen Hennings
(515) 281-5859
Kathleen.Hennings@dnr.iowa.gov

Keepers of the Land Volunteer Program (KOL)

KOL is offered to help connect Iowans to their environment through a wide variety of opportunities that will protect and enhance Iowa's natural resources. KOL maintains a database of volunteer activities in order to recognize their accomplishments in improving Iowa's natural resources. Please consider submitting your community improvement achievements to the KOL database. Contact KOL coordinator Merry Rankin at merry.rankin@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-281-0878 and provide such information as:

a brief project description
the organization sponsoring the project
the number of volunteers participating in the project
the number of hours contributed to the project

For additional KOL volunteer opportunities, please visit the KOL website at http://www.iowadnr.com/volunteer/introduction.html.