The Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center is hitting the streets this summer and painting manhole covers to help raise awareness for our local waterways. The City of Topeka alone receives around one billion gallons of water with every inch of rainfall.
Topeka’s storm drains help guide the rushing water into the nearby Kansas River. The works of art being created by zoo staff are meant to act as a reminder for people not to dump any waste into the waterways.
“There’s a very extensive storm drain system in every city including ours that most people are unaware of, but what little they do know about it, they think it all goes to a treatment facility, but it doesn’t,” said Dennis Dinwiddie with the Topeka Zoo.
Zoo staff and volunteers have painted 250 storm drains so far out of the more than 5,000 that can be found around Topeka. Dinwiddie, who has painted multiple manhole covers as well, said the effort is part of a larger movement to protect not only our local waterways, but also our rivers and oceans.
“We are not just protecting the waterway that flows right through the City of Topeka; we are protecting other waterways, other systems and ultimately the global ocean,” Dinwiddie said.
Dinwiddie said the manhole covers are meant to be brightly colored and eye-catching to make people aware of the message they are trying to spread. He hopes that people will take a moment to consider how things like trash, engine oil and other waste will impact local fish and wildlife in Kansas and beyond.
People may spot one or two of these manhole covers in their local neighborhoods. Dinwiddie said zoo staff and volunteers are focusing on putting them in areas near schools so children grow up with the message in mind.
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