Stencil a Storm Drain
Get outside, volunteer, and join us in helping raise awareness about stormwater pollution and water quality in Seattle neighborhoods.
Why are storm drains important? As stormwater runoff flows over hard surfaces, it collects pollutants such as gasoline, motor oil, soaps, pesticides, fertilizers, pet waste, and garbage. Storm drains direct the water, as well as its collected pollutants, into one of our local waterways such as Lake Washington or Puget Sound.
What does stenciling do? Stenciling storm drain messages like “Dump No Waste / Drains to Puget Sound" reminds the community that what goes into the drain will end up in local waterways, directly affecting our communities. When people make the connection between storm drains and local waterways, they are less likely to dump pollutants like soaps, paints, antifreeze, and used motor oil into storm drains.
How do I get involved? Storm drain stenciling takes place during the drier months from April through October. Additionally, please consider adopting your storm drain and become a part of the citywide Adopt a Drain volunteer community.
If you have a specific question or would like to organize a volunteer event, please email PreventPollution@seattle.gov.
Two volunteers sweep the street and stencil a storm drain.
Volunteer from a youth summer program stenciling workshop
A young volunteer stencils a storm drain.