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Keep it clean Denver
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Denver Public Works asks you to “Keep It Clean...from drain to stream” (KIC)!

Denver Public Works, in partnership with Denver Environmental Health, introduces a dynamic opportunity for students, neighborhoods and community institutions to educate one another about the importance of reducing storm water pollution in our urban waterways. Clean water is vital to our community and to our country.

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KIC provides ways for Denver residents to actively participate in protecting our natural water resources by promoting healthier practices every day from our homes, schools, businesses and recreation areas. Together, we can help prevent further degradation and even improve the quality of our valuable water resources.

Join other Denver citizens in our KIC campaign. Be informed. Make a positive difference.

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What we do...

KIC education programs to demonstrate the link between stewardship of Denver’s stormdrains and the vital role it plays in the protection of our natural water resources. The KIC campaign targets students and youth as beneficiaries and as primary agents of behavioral change within their own families and immediate communities.


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By engaging Denver’s urban youth -

  • in the creation of classroom activities related to water…
  • in their participation in public outreach opportunities and events…
  • and their collaboration in devising the train-the-trainer action plan…

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Train-the-trainer Approach • Forming valuable, local partnerships: Live Green! • Overall Education Goals for 2007 • "Keep it clean" commercial

Train-the-trainer approach

FrontRange Earth Force helped develop training and curriculum for the 2007 KIC initiative.

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"Training for Teachers in Water Issues" headlined its annual summer training event, where two master teachers guided the workshop for 10 teachers in 10 schools targeted for the rollout of the 2007 program.

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In addition, FrontRange Earth Force is coaching 2-3 youth how to do basic public outreach, including larger public events (e.g. Black Art Festival) and neighborhood gatherings (e.g., Clayton Neighborhood picnic). These team leaders manage youth teams, responsible for doing public outreach at these events, with an emphasis on face-to-face discussions, getting pledges, and answering questions.

Forming valuable, local partnerships: Live Green!

On your Mark! Get Ready! Go with the Flow!

Click here to view the slide show!

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The Green Team, a group of students employed by Groundwork Denver and Youth Development in cooperation with the Mayor's Youth Employment Program, acted as the City and County of Denver's water crusaders this summer. The Green Team was charged with a difficult task: 1) becoming experts on water quality and its link to storm water in their neighborhood, 2) and spreading what they learned throughout the community.

The Green Team worked with the City and County of Denver's Public Works Department and FrontRange Earth Force to explore the basics of water quality.

The students explored and mapped out the Cole/Clayton neighborhood and took an inventory of multiple storm drains in their community. The students witnessed first hand what pollutes stormwater.

The team collected information on:

  • what it found in the storm drains
  • where and how many stormdrains were located within walking distance of its meeting

Students tested water samples from:

  • the South Platte River
  • Cherry Creek
  • Confluence Park
  • and the tap at their meeting place.

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Green Team students tackled reaching the community about water quality and storm drains by:

Helping create a pledge for community members/Denver residents around water quality

Attending a Confluence Concert in Confluence Park in July to talk to community members about how to keep their water clean

Going door to door in the Cole/Clayton neighborhood spreading
the word

Giving a presentation to community members at the Cole Neighborhood Association meeting in July

Helping the City and County of Denver mark more storm drains in the Clayton and Cole neighborhoods.

Staffing a booth at the Peace in the Streets fair in Curtis Park on Saturday, Aug 11th.

The Green Team completed various other environmental and community projects throughout their summer of employment with Groundwork Denver and Youth Development. These included maintaining three community gardens, mulching trees in the neighborhood and City Park, educating the community about lead poisoning prevention, and eradicating non-native invasive plants in Rocky Mountain National Park.

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Needs discription

Overall Education Goals for 2007:

  • Total of 10 youth projects, school related activities at 10 schools for the year; 300 youth reaching 3,000 with the mentoring and guidance of 20 volunteers
  • 500 signed pledges (10% of all people involved)
  • Pre & post surveys documenting changes in awareness about specific water quality facts
  • Presence and engagement with public at at least 5 public outreach events
  • Help classrooms complete their projects and evaluate the school year's activities.
  • Develop key talking points and a presentation for trainers to use in ongoing training future trainees.

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What you do makes a difference!

Explore daily scenarios to see how your actions can keep Denver's water clean from drain to stream.

Need a break? Try one of these games!

Flo Dodge • Pollution Catch

Drawing of Flo and Jo going down a storm drain

Go with the Flow Game

Join H2O Jo & Flo in an amazing adventure down a stormdrain to the South Platte River and Cherry Creek. Find out what dirty deeds pollute our stormdrains and what you can do to keep our rivers, streams and creeks clean!

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Here are some ways to become involved in the Denver community around storm water and so much more!

Join your neighborhood association or organization to rally others around your cause! Click here.

Mark you calendars for the Park People’s Denver Digs Trees annual street tree planting event!

Use your empty plastic milk jugs to hold plastic bags for your neighbors to pick up dog poop. Hang one near your local dog park or a common dog walking area.

Join the Keep Denver Beautiful team and its Adopt a Spot program! Keep Denver Beautiful, 720-865-6900 or visit the KDB website.

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This fall, instead of raking your leaves into the gutter or bagging them and throwing them away, learn to COMPOST!

Support the Greenway Foundation in their efforts to support Denver metro area waterways.

Be a watchdog over our lakes and streams. Contact the Division of Environmental Quality at (720) 865-5452 if you notice any of the following unusual conditions in our lakes and streams: A change in color of the water • An unusual or foul odor • Suds when there is no precipitation occurring • Any unusual-looking substance discharging from a storm outlet • Illegal dumping activity • Unusual discharges from construction sites or industrial sites • Large number of dead or dying fish or crayfish

 

 

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Take the Pledge!

Please check at least five actions below that apply to you and that you are ready to try.

pledge to:
Be very wise each time I fertilize!
Use as little fertilizer as possible.
Try using natural fertilizers such as compost or bone meal.
Sweep up any excess fertilizer from my curb, gutter and sidewalk and dispose of it properly.
Try to never use fertilizer before it rains. Don’t forget to check your local weather.
Choose pest resistant plants and native grasses for my lawn and garden.
Plant or cover up exposed dirt or mulch with a tarp before a rain.
Start a compost bin or pile in my yard.
Pick up Litter and after my Critter!
Pick up my pet’s waste, both in my yard and in public areas.
Try reusing your grocery or newspaper bags as scoopers for your pet’s waste.
Cover your trash can or dumpster.
While walking, I will pick up pieces of trash I see and properly dispose of them.
Beware of Spills that often Kill!
Use cat litter or sawdust to soak up spills and then put them in the trash.
Wash my vehicle at a commercial car wash.
Pour soapy water in the sink, not in the street.
Use designated drop off or recycling locations for disposal of auto fluids.
 

 
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Me Comprometo A!

prometo a:

¡Ser muy sabio(a) cada vez que fertilice!
Utilizar la menor cantidad de fertilizante posible. El fertilizante contamina las vías navegables locales.
Intentar utilizar fertilizantes naturals, tales como comida de abono o hueso.
Barrer cualquier exceso de fertilizante de la acera y disponer de él adecuadamente.
Tratar de nunca utilizar fertilizantes antes de que llueva.No olvide revisar su reporte local de clima!
Escoger plantas resistentes a las pestes y céspedes nativos para mi jardín.
Cubrir tierra o pajote expuestos con material impermeable antes de una lluvia.
Empezar un cajón de abono o una pila en mi jardín. Revise la página de Internet de los “Jardines Urbanos de Denver “(www.dug.org) para clases locales gratuitas de abonar este verano.
¡Recoger los desechos de su mascota!
Recoger los desechos de mi mascota, tanto en mi jardín como en áreas públicas. Los desechos de las mascotas que son dejados contienen bacterias dañinas y un exceso de nutrientes que causan un elevado riesgo de salud al ser tirados en nuestras vías navegables.
Tratar de reusar las bolsas del supermercado o de periódico como recogedores de los desechos de su mascota.
Cubrir su bote o contenedor de basura. De esta manera los animales no se meterán en su basura y la esparcirán por todos lados.
Mientras camine, recogeré los pedazos de basura que vea y dispondré de ellos apropiadamente.
¡Cuidado con los derrames de los productos no deseados!
Utilizar arena higiénica o aserrín para absorber derrames y luego ponerlos en la basura.
Lavar mi vehículo en lavados de coche comerciales. Cuando un vehículo es lavado en un lavacoches comercial, el agua con jabón es vertida directamente en la planta tratadora de agua de desperdicio, en lugar de en su río local.
Vertir agua con jabón en el fregadero, no en la calle.
Utilizar ubicaciones de reciclaje para la disposición de fluidos de autos.
 

 

Contact us

For more information please fill out the form below, or email Paul Subiech, Water Quality Program Manager.

First Name:
Last Name:
School or Neighborhood:
Email Address:
Comment:
 


 

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