Novato Rotarians Launch Storm Drain Awareness Project

NOVATO, CA — Novato Rotarians are doing their part to keep the region’s waterways clean.

Volunteers from four local Rotary clubs earlier this month began installing “No Dumping - Drains to Bay” medallions at stormwater drains in downtown Novato.

The medallions aim to call attention to the importance of keeping litter and harmful liquids away from these water catchment basins.

The project is being done in partnership with the city.

“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,” Novato’s Sustainability Coordinator Gretchen Schubeck said in a statement.

“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 is supporting the volunteers as they undertake the project.

“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!” Fraley said in a statement.

Anyone interested in volunteering on future stormwater medallion installation projects should email: pw@novato.org.