by Grace Hubenthal
Inspired by the question, "Where does all that storm water go?" local Emerson High School students ventured out in the rain on January 8, 2002, prepared to get wet and dirty. As a first line of defense in cleaning up storm water pollution, black polypropylene filters called Grate Mates were fitted inside storm drain catch-basins to capture oil, trash, sediment, and chemicals, preventing their passage into local streams. In early June these same students will return to inspect the filters and assess how well they are performing.
As if anticipating our activities, the rain poured down, collecting in the parking lot creating telltale iridescent oil slicks sliding into storm drains. Ten students, joined by staff and board members of SFEG and PlanetCPR, Mount Vernon Mayor Skye Richendrfer, City Council Members April Walker and Dale Ragan, and local property managers, installed 21 filters in the parking lot storm drains in front of Office Depot and Petco on College Way. This installation event begins the Grate Mate Pilot Demonstration Project as part of a larger Stormwater Education Program, a two-year partnership between SFEG and the City of Mount Vernon designed to raise awareness about water pollution from storm drains, and to involve the community in preventing pollution of local streams and rivers within the Skagit watershed.
Students from Emerson School install a Grate Mate into a storm drain. This filter will
potentially strain out 50% of pollutants before they reach Kulshan Creek.
We were truly lucky to have this opportunity to work with dedicated and enthusiastic students from the Service Learning class at Emerson High School. Teacher Lauren McCoy had contacted SFEG looking for possible projects at the perfect time. "I asked the kids what they were interested in, and one of them said salmon enhancement and stream restoration," McCoy said. Bravo! SFEG staff visited the class before the event to talk about the dynamics of stormwater in rural, suburban and urban landscapes and how pollutants are transported within the watershed. As part of the Stormwater Education Program SFEG is developing curriculum to present in local schools, combined with service learning activities like Grate Mate installation and storm drain stenciling for middle and high school students.
The Grate Mate program was started in 1998 by Seattle-based conservation group Planet CPR. The filters are essentially a polypropylene sock with a pouch of absorbent pellets, together collecting 50-75% of sediment, oil, and chemicals. This Grate Mate event was a resounding success thanks to the partnership of conservation groups, local high school students, city officials, and local businesses all concerned with actively protecting the health of our watershed. For more on Grate Mates, visit www.planetcpr.org.
