The City of Grande Prairie has launched a new campaign to inform and educate residents about the stormwater system. The campaign includes a detailed explanation of how the system works as well as a feedback survey where residents can ask any questions they have related to the system.
Richard Sali, Stormwater Manager with the city says the development of the campaign has been ongoing but he’s glad to see it come to fruition.
“The city realized that it would be best to inform our residents of the existence of the storm system, including how it works, where it goes, and how it affects properties. When we do get rainfall or that snowmelt, people can now further understand our stormwater system,” he says.
There are two different elements for the stormwater system, the ways that properties contribute to that system and the endpoint it gets to.
“Think about it like when a raindrop falls on your roof, that raindrop will eventually go to Bear Creek and then the Wapiti River,” he says.
The city has received feedback from residents on the stormwater system and Sali hopes that feedback will continue with the addition of the survey and explanation of how the system works.
“I feel like most of the feedback we get involves questions about how the system works, how people can manage water near their property, especially when it comes to big snowmelts. Questions like asking how to get water off the road or why the road is ponding,” he says.
Sali mentions that there is often confusion between where the water goes because there are two systems in place, a sanitary system, and a stormwater system.
“The sanitary system is your gray water and black water from your homes, such as toilet water and tap water. The other system in place deals with only runoff and rainwater,” he says.
Sali says there are some actions residents can take to ensure the two systems are working properly.
“Letting the water run over a permeable surface, such as grass before it hits the road is very helpful. It slows the water down from getting into the street and into the storm sewer so that it doesn’t overload the system. It is also important not to use excessive chemicals and fertilizers on your lawn,” he says.
For more information, or to take the survey, visit the city website.