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True Horror Stories: No Dumping – Drains to Lake
By Steve Tonn, Douglas/Sarpy Extension Educator

I continue to hear stories from lake watershed residents about pollutants being dumped into storm drains in their neighborhoods. The dumping was done by residents or workers in the watershed. Two stories that I have recently heard are a resident draining the oil from their vehicle into the storm drain and commercial painters allowing excess paint and cleaning materials to get into the streets and flow down to the storm drains.

The storm drains lead directly to the lake. The pollutants that enter the storm drains are not filtered or treated before they reach the lake. Motor oil can damage or kill aquatic vegetation and animal life. One spilled oil change alone is sufficient to create an oil slick the size of two football fields, harming fish and wildlife. Any paint can poison people and animals.
Residents are reminded to dispose of household chemicals (paint, cleaning supplies, toxic chemicals, pesticides, oil, automotive products, etc.) properly. Also if you hire work to be done at your home, tell your workers to not dump excess materials or cleaning supplies in the street or storm drains. We all must do our part to help protect the lake. NO DUMPING IN STORMWATER DRAINS—DRAINS TO LAKE.