CITY OF RENO NEWS RELEASE
This Saturday, August 27, the Truckee Meadows Watershed Committee, UNR members of the American Fisheries Society, and KTMB volunteers, will hold a volunteer-based urban watershed storm drain stenciling day, targeting the Northwest Reno area. The event focuses on protecting the Truckee River from urban pollution.
“Every bit of dry weather runoff from our lawns, sidewalks and streets carries pollutants into the Truckee River, our drinking water supply and community center,” Hydrologist Lynell Garfield-Qualls says.
UNR students from the American Fisheries Society club are equally concerned about fish and other life in the Truckee River. Fertilizers applied to lawns improperly can run off, into the gutters and storm drains, and into the Truckee. “When we fertilize the creeks and river, algae grows unnaturally thick – when this dies off, we see oxygen levels in the streams plummet, which can be toxic to fish and other sensitive species,” says Schannon Gehrke, of UNR.
What: Urban Watershed Awareness Day
When: Saturday, Aug. 27 at 8 a.m.
Who: City of Reno, Truckee Meadows Watershed Committee, UNR students, KTMB, and volunteers
Where: The Purple Bean at 1315 West 7th Street in Reno
Misc: Volunteers will be meeting at the Purple Bean at 8 a.m. and head into the neighborhoods by 8:30 a.m. for a morning of watershed protection activities.
To take part as a volunteer, please email Schannon Gehrke at [email protected]. For more information on protecting urban storm drains and the Truckee River in our daily activities, visit www.tmstormwater.com.
