The Let’s Strain the Drains – Warrnambool will be the first stormwater debris monitoring project in Warrnambool, and just the second one across Victoria. This innovative project is supported by the Victorian State Government through the Coastcare Victoria Community Grant, delivered by Tangaroa Blue Foundation & Cleanwater Group with support from the Warrnambool City Council.
It builds on existing beach clean-up data by analysing stormwater drain data to help identify the source of what is being found on our beaches and reduce litter at the source. 10 stormwater drain traps have been installed by the Cleanwater Group in consultation with the council to two different land use sites; 5 traps in the CBD area and another 5 in an industrial area in order to better understand what type and what quantities of litter escape into the stormwater system from these areas.
The contents of the traps will be sorted and counted every 8 weeks by volunteers between May 2021 and February 2022. The data collected from the audits is submitted into the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) Database, which is then used to identify specific information on sources and distributions of litter originating from urban areas that would normally flow through the stormwater system into the waterways. The results will be published in an open community forum where the representatives of the council, businesses, schools and community members can learn more of the issue and start to work on source reduction plans for certain items to further reduce the amount of litter escaping into the environment.
The auditing sessions will take place in Archie Graham Community Centre, Warrnambool and the first one is scheduled for 15th May 2021.
To register your interest in participating in the audits, email melissa@tangaroablue.org.
