Contact the Northern Virginia Soil & Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) to set up an orientation meeting and get your storm drain project started! Call 703-324-1423, TTY 711, or send the stenciling coordinator an e-mail.

Decide upon a project location. Do you want to work in your neighborhood, or near your school or church? NVSWCD can help choose a project location and size your project appropriately for your group.

NVSWCD will also help you:

• Locate the storm drains in your project area.
• Find out if they are privately (by a homeowners association) or publicly (by the Virginia Department of Transportation) maintained.

Get permission for your project.

You will need:

1. Approval for storm drain labeling from any homeowners associations in your project area.
2. If VDOT maintains the storm drains, you must also get a VDOT permit for your project.

An authorization form allowing you to apply for a free VDOT land use permit will be given to you at your orientation meeting.

Plan your project.

If you are using pre-printed markers and adhesive, plan to label each drain in your project area. Mark the project location on the map given to you at your orientation meeting and submit with your VDOT permit application.

If you are using paint and stencils...

• Take a tour of the community and decide which drains are the most important to label. Choose prominent, highly-visible locations within the community to make the most impact with your project.
• Select one or two drains per block. Keep in mind the number of volunteers you anticipate having for the project.
• Mark the location of the drains you intend to stencil on the tax map given to you at your orientation meeting. Place an X on the map at the number of the house nearest to each storm drain that will be painted.

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Certain drains may not be labeled:

• Storm drains in yards or on pipe stems (private driveways or cul-de-sacs that provide access to isolated lots) may not be labeled.
• Drains with yellow or red markings may not be labeled.

Set a project date and a rain date.

• Temperatures must be above 50 degrees and it should not be wet or raining on the day of your project. Stenciling projects should not be done when it is windy.
• Notify NVSWCD of the date of your project (and the rain date).

Recruit volunteers.

• Spread the word about your project among your organization.
• For larger projects, think about having multiple shifts, say a morning and an afternoon shift, for your volunteers.
• If you are not affiliated with a group, start your recruiting with friends, family and neighbors. Consider contacting a community volunteer office, posting the event on mailing lists and at community centers, or invite your homeowners or civic association's environmental committee to participate.

Educate yourself, your crew, and the community about nonpoint source pollution. Develop a storm drain education flier or personalize our standard educational materials to place on the doors of homes in your project area (required).

Think about other ways you might spread the word about the connection between storm drains and our streams such as: writing an article for your school, church or neighborhood publication, contacting a local newspaper or placing a sign at a prominent location in the project area.

To include on your storm drain education flier:

• Your name and phone number (or the number for NVSWCD).
• The project date (and a rain date).
• A statement that you have permission/support from the homeowners association, the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Virginia Department of Transportation (unless the homeowners association owns the drains).
• Indicate who is funding your project. Ask NVSWCD to provide you with this information.
• The name of the watershed and the closest stream.
• State what you are going to do and why you are doing it. Include details about nonpoint source pollution, specifically that storm drains are not trash cans. Include information about changes everyone can make in their lifestyle to benefit water quality.
• For stenciling projects, ask residents not to park in front of the drains that will be painted.

FAX or email your educational flier or article to NVSWCD at 703-324-1421, TTY 711 for review before you distribute it.

Collect the supplies you'll need to complete your project, and keep your crew happy and safe!

• Supply list (pdf) for projects using pre-printed markers and adhesive.
• Supply list (pdf) for projects using stencils and paint.

Label the drains!

Marking activity guidelines (pdf).
Stenciling activity guidelines (pdf).

Make the health and safety of your crew a priority, and remember, have fun!

Be proud of your efforts to keep Fairfax County's streams and the Chesapeake Bay clean for us and for wildlife!

CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING YOUR STORM DRAIN PROJECT!