Public Outreach Last updated or reviewed on March 21, 2023 Education Our community depends on safe, clean drinking water every day. To support the environmental education of our youth, the City of Asheville Stormwater Services Division offers an extensive education program. These programs correlate with the North Carolina Essential Standard goals. Classroom education segments can be customized to last 45-90 minutes for elementary, middle, and high school students. Wandering Your Watershed To explore your local watershed and the impacts we have on our downstream neighbors, click on the storymap icon for “Wandering Your Watershed” below. This story map works best when using the Google Chrome browser. Scroll through the story map to move from page to page. Disclaimer: The City of Asheville acquires, develops, maintains, and uses GIS data in support of its internal business functions and the public services it provides. The GIS data which City of Asheville distributes and to which it provides access may not be suitable for other purposes or uses. All GIS data sets are provided “as is” with no warranty. It is your responsibility to verify any information derived from the GIS data before making any decisions or taking any actions based on the information. Use of all GIS data and map services provided by the City of Asheville are covered by this disclaimer. SCM Finder Tool Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) can include constructed wetlands, wet ponds, and dry detention ponds, as well as underground detention structures. Some of these are located on private property and per Ordinance 3875, regulations must be maintained and inspected on a regular basis. Property owners have an Operations and Maintenance Agreement as part of their property purchase. This legal document explains the maintenance required for the SCM to function properly and maintain a safe environment for the community. Annual inspections completed by a stormwater professional are the best opportunity to ensure the maintenance is effective. The City is required to conduct several random inspections each year. The City provides the following information to assist property owners in completing these required inspections: Inspection Form Web map to locate SCMs and the associated O&M agreements – click the SCM Finder button below to start. This tool works best when using the Google Chrome browser. For more information or questions about inspection your SCM, please contact: Monte Clampett 828-259-5434 Project WET Activities The cornerstone of Project WET is its methodology of teaching about water resources through hands-on, investigative, easy-to-use water education activities. Enviroscape Presentation Enviroscape is a watershed model that shows students the effects that pollution can have on water quality. Students learn about different components of a watershed and get the opportunity to decide where to place buildings, roads, animals, and trees within the model. Two waterways flow into a larger water body, which is representative of a lake, river, bay, or ocean. Students learn about non-point and point source pollution and runoff, which are visually apparent when rain falling over the model landscape carries soil (cocoa), chemicals (colored drink mixes), and oil (cocoa and water mixture) through a watershed to a body of water. The presentation also covers stormwater runoff and storm drain functions. Grade Your School Yard We take a stormwater stroll around your school yard to see what your school is doing to protect our waterways from polluted stormwater. Using a grade card with questions about runoff, vegetation, education, and transportation, we grade your school yard. When finished, we discuss suggestions for how your school could improve and how you and your class can help. For more information about these programs, contact Keisha Lipe at 828-259-5401. Storm Drain Marking Program Much of the stormwater in the City of Asheville goes directly into streams and rivers carrying oil, dirt, fertilizers, pesticides, and other pollutants from our yards and streets. Volunteers permanently adhere a marker next to storm drains with the message “No Dumping! Drains to River.” This reminds people that storm drains are for rainwater only. In addition, educational stormwater door hangers can be distributed to nearby residences and businesses during storm drain marking events. Participants must sign a liability release form prior to marking storm drains. Children under age 18 must have a parent or guardian sign a release. Marking Storm Drains
