Harris County residents are working with the Harris County Flood Control District to spread the word about keeping pollutants out of local waterways.  Several groups have already participated in the Flood Control District’s Stormwater Inlet Marking Program (SWIM) with many more scheduled to take part this month. SWIM is an environmental public education program to help reduce pollution into Galveston Bay. The program involves the application of markers on storm drains with the message "No Dumping, Flows to Galveston Bay." In the last 12 months, 2,500 markers have been applied to storm drains.

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The goal of the SWIM program is to remind citizens to not to dump pollutants into storm sewers or contribute to ordinary stormwater runoff by littering, over-fertilizing, or sweeping yard debris into the street. Stormwater runoff from urban areas can carry pollutants and trash into the stormwater drainage system. Other goals of the SWIM program are to:

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• Raise awareness in Harris County communities about storm water quality issues

• Connect residents to their neighborhood storm drains and local waterways

• Encourage residents to protect their water resources

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The program is open to any individual, group or community that would like to participate in helping us reach our goal: marking every storm drain in Harris County in order to prevent pollution from entering our local waterways. Developers can also propose installing SWIM markers as part of their Stormwater Quality Management Plan.

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Learn more at https://www.cleanwaterways.org/SWIM