City Of Novato Partners With Local Rotary Clubs On Stormwater Medallion Project

Press release from the City of Novato:

June 24, 2021

This week, volunteers from four Novato Rotary Clubs are installing ‘No Dumping - Drains to Bay’ medallions at stormwater drains in downtown Novato to draw attention to the importance of keeping litter and harmful liquids away from these water catchment basins.

“Although we are experiencing a historic drought, everything that enters a stormwater drain, including litter, pet waste, and liquids, flows straight into local creeks, the San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean,” said Gretchen Schubeck, Novato’s Sustainability Coordinator. “Raising community awareness about the need to keep pollution away from our stormwater drains is critical, any time of year, and we are grateful that Novato Rotary Clubs are willing to pitch in to help educate the public about this important issue by installing the stormwater medallions”.

Rotary International recently announced the addition of a seventh area of focus: Protecting the Environment and Rotary Club of Novato has formed a Planet Earth Team (NR-P.E.T.), whose members focus on sustainability, local environmental education, and volunteer projects — including the stormwater medallion project and more P.E.T. projects planned this year.

The stormwater medallion installation project is a county-wide initiative facilitated by the Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (MCSTOPPP), a collaboration between Marin’s 11 cities and towns, the County of Marin and the Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District founded in 1993 and coordinated locally by the City’s Public Works Department.

Public Works staff member and Novato’s stormwater program coordinator Melanie Fraley will be supporting the volunteers as they undertake the project and noted, “Community engagement is a key strategy of our stormwater pollution prevention program and getting the medallions installed is going to take a village of volunteers!”.

To register your interest in volunteering on future stormwater medallion installation projects, please email: pw@novato.org.

This press release was produced by the City of Novato. The views expressed here are the author’s own.