The Topeka Zoo and the city have teamed up to create the “Waterways Protection Project.” This new project is centered around the creation of colorful, painted storm drains that will help raise awareness of the pollution going down them. Storm drains in Topeka lead out to the Kansas River, which eventually leads to the Mississippi River, which then goes out to the ocean. This means that if the number of pollution going into storm drain’s in Topeka drops, so will the amount of pollution going into the ocean. According to Dennis Dinwiddie, the Director of Conservation and Education at Topeka Zoo, it takes only a gallon of oil to contaminate up to a million gallons of river water. By creating these colorful storm drains, the zoo is hoping to attract attention to the issue of pollution going down the drains and thus affecting wildlife and the quality of our drinking water.
Source: KSNT News
