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Rainy-Day Sidewalk Messages Remind Pedestrians About Litter's Impact on Waterways

Scott Willis
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WAER News

  You may not be able to see it on a sunny day, but when it rains you may find yourself looking at a new take on sidewalk art.  The lack of rain means Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection Commissioner Tom Rhoads had to innovate.  

"Right now we're in dry weather, but what we're going to do is activate the art.  Let's see what happens,"Rhoads said as water was poured on the sidewalk.  "So, it says, 'Keep litter out of the forecast.  Connect the drops.  Save the rain.'”                                 

Rhoads was demonstrating how their new campaign works to reduce litter in our community.

What it does is it repels the water so it's completely invisible in dry weather," Rhoads said.  "But when it rains, you'll be able to see these images.”                            

Those images are reminders to the community about putting litter in the trash can so it doesn’t end up in bodies of water.

“Even though you see it on a roadside, or you might see it in a park or schoolyard, what's happening is when it rains, that's actually going to get flushed into a storm water system," Rhoads said.  "That litter, if not captured with some sort of technology or street sweeping,  will eventually make its way to a water body.”  

Credit Sophia Morris / WAER News
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WAER News
No rain means resorting to artificially exposing the hidden messages.

  He says Save the Rain Program works closely with the Department of Water Environment Protection to manage storm water runoff that helps protect Onondaga Lake and its tributaries.

“One of the responsibilities that we have, now that we've done so much to clean up the lake from certain forms of contamination, we also need to take this great body of water and make sure it continues its remarkable recovery.  Litter really degrades any water body."             

Rhoads says only the next rain storm will reveal the remaining locations of the project’s unique street art, but for now it can be seen around the Civic Center and Everson Museum.

Credit Sophia Morris / WAER News
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WAER News

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.