Storm Drain Marking Program

Help protect our County’s waterways from pollution by organizing your class, scout group, family, and neighbors to place storm drain markers in your neighborhood. By marking storm drains, you’re letting neighbors know that only rain belongs down the drain!

As rainwater and melting snow washes over our lawns and gardens, sidewalks and streets, it picks up pollutants and trash that end up in our storm drains. This stormwater flows directly to the County's waterways without being treated at a wastewater treatment plant. This untreated stormwater – and pollutants it carries such as pet waste, fertilizer, household chemicals, antifreeze and gasoline – pollutes our waterways, creating an unsafe environment for people, pets, and wildlife.

The storm drain marking program allows the community to work together to protect our waterways. Volunteers apply educational messages on storm drains to remind residents that whatever goes into storm drains travels untreated to our creeks, streams, and rivers.

Steps to Participate in Storm Drain Marking:

Estimate the number of storm drains you plan to mark. Walk around the area where you would like to work and count the number of storm drains that you want to mark. 

Organize friends, family and/or neighbors:

Recruit a group of people to help. Explain that the activity will only take a few hours and that it will help prevent pollution of our waterways!

Request a Storm Drain Marking Kit:

Once you have an idea of the number of volunteers you will have and the number ​of storm drains you plan to mark, email us to request a storm drain marking kit. This kit will provide all the supplies needed.  We will want to know the location and number of storm drains you plan to mark and the number of volunteers that will be participating so we can also provide proper amount of materials. 

For more details, contact BWPR's Education & Outreach Coordinator, Sally Albright, at [email protected] or 410-222-0136.

Associated Resources and Virtual Liability Waiver:

• Storm Drain Marker Instructions (PDF)
• Storm Drain Marker Sponsor Agreement (PDF)
• BWPR Storm Drain Marking Volunteer Liability & Photo Release Waiver (Google Form)