Why Adopt-a-Drain?

Stormwater professionals need effective education and engagement to support programs for clean water. Communities are facing negative environmental impacts of excessive stormwater runoff with health and economic consequences, which pose health risks to people. Communities are engaged in programs to raise water quality knowledge and awareness. Although stormwater professionals strive to change attitudes and form positive behaviors, it’s difficult to measure the effectiveness of these programs.

The grassroots volunteer-based Adopt-a-Drain Program has shown significant educational and water quality impacts. By empowering people, these volunteers keep trash, leaves and sediment out of the streets, resulting in measurable TP reductions. The Minneapolis AAD Program was created in 2016, before joining the metro-wide program in 2019. The metro-wide program was created and is administered by CGEE at Hamline. Our systematic approach uses a variety of tools. We will explain what worked and what didn’t, how these efforts have had an effect on people signing up to adopt. Examples includes Clean Water blogs, GIS mapping, door hangers, meetings with neighborhoods, tabling at events, interactive touch screens, brochure distribution, utility bill inserts, social media strategy, newspaper advertisement, yard signs, and resident driven adoption challenges. We developed a process to measure program success. In 2019, Minneapolis had 810 new adopters logging 2,100 hours, cleaning 1,545 drains, resulting in 27,000 pounds of debris collected and removal of 24 pounds of TP. This is from only 32% of Minneapolis adopters, meaning actual numbers are certainly higher than reported data. We will also briefly discuss the "sister" program in Minneapolis, the Storm Drain Stenciling Program. Our presentation will focus on outreach strategies that worked, and what didn’t work, TP removal as a direct result of the program, identifying where to direct future efforts, and program efficacy.