If you aren’t busy on Saturday, Oct. 4, the State Fair and the N.C. Division of Water Quality have a project for you. Here are the details from a DWQ press release:
RALEIGH – Dozens of volunteers will gather to stencil water protection messages and brightly colored fish on storm drains located throughout the N.C. State Fairgrounds on Saturday, Oct. 4. The event is being organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality, in partnership with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Stormwater runoff is the number one cause of water pollution in North Carolina and the nation. The stenciled images provide a strong visual reminder that everything that flows into storm drains also flows into our creeks, streams, rivers and ocean.
More than 200 storm drains are located on the fairgrounds’ 344 acres. Stormwater carrying litter, sediment and other pollutants enters the drains and flows first to the fairgrounds’ ponds affecting the ecology on site, then to nearby streams and eventually, to the Neuse River.
Volunteers should meet at 9 a.m. in front of the Gov. Jim Martin Building, which is just inside Gate 9 off Trinity Road. Paint, stencils and gloves will be provided. The rain date is Sunday, Oct. 5.
To register your group, visit www.ncstormwater.org or call the Division of Water Quality at (919) 807-6363.
The release goes on to say that the Oct. 4 date coincides with the annual Big Sweep, an event where thousands of people pitch in to clear the state’s waterways of debris and trash. “Volunteers at the fairgrounds will do their part by painting messages that remind people not to litter and pollute waterways in the first place,” the release says. Good point.
The Fair Sucks! It’s too busy and a joke….