Welcome to the BASWG Outfall SignSearch!
The Bangor Area Stormwater Group (BASWG) invites you to explore how stormwater (e.g., rain or snowmelt) flows across the land, picks up pollutants, and enters our local waterways.
What is the Outfall SignSearch?
Stormwater typically enters the stormwater system through storm drains along streets and sidewalks, where water flows through some grates into a containment called a catch basin. The catch basin allows particulate pollutants like trash and sand to settle out in the basin (i.e. sump) as the first line of defense. However, this water can overflow into the storm sewer pipes that carry the contaminated water to an outfall. An outfall is where the waterleaves the storm sewer system and drains directly into a river, stream, pond, or other waterway. Across the Greater Bangor Area, you will find many outfalls!
Across our communities we have placed 40 outfall signs with our fun BASWG emojis. Have you seen them on ads, YouTube, or at the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor? When you find a sign with those little guys on them, there will be a QR code that you can use your phone camera to connect to the SignSearch.
We want you to be a stormwater steward, helping to protect our local streams, rivers, lakes and ponds:
What many people do not know is that the water that goes into the storm drains along streets and sidewalks do not go to the sewage treatment plant. It doesn’t get treated at all. So, any pollutants that get into the catch basin (oil, gas, plastic bags, trash, cigarette butts, chemicals, soil, etc.) can wash through our storm sewer system and into the waters that we love so much in our community. That’s called stormwater pollution – and that’s where you come in!
Find those Signs!
1. At each sign, you will learn about where the stormwater comes from and flows to, some information about the purpose of the outfall, and a map. This will help you learn about that specific place and watershed.
2. Then, you get to put on your detective hat and let us know what you see around the outfall pipe. Send us information about which pollutants you see, wildlife, and the weather!
3. If you snap a selfie with the outfall sign (you will have a button to push if you want to click one), you may make it onto our social media pages, which you can then share with your friends and get them to care about our local waters too!
4. At each sign, when you use the QR code, you also get to learn about ways you or a group can volunteer as stormwater stewards and also play our Stomp Out Stormwater interactive online game!
5. We encourage you to find all the signs in your town or city or even all forty as a kind of treasure hunt! The map above shows you where you can find each one.
6. If you find all the signs in your municipality (city or town) and take selfies with each one, we will send you some cool BASWG logo swag so you can show off all you are doing in your community to help keep our waters clean!
Go forth and find those outfall signs!
The Outfall SignSearch has been created with the support of all eleven BASWG partners, generous grants from the John Sage Foundation and the Davis Conservation Foundation, and other community partners.
