Story: Marine conservation

From the storm drain to the sea

From the storm drain to the sea

This painted mural at Mt Cook School in Wellington illustrates a little-understood fact of urban drainage. Water and anything else that enters storm drains is not treated at any point. So if you tip paint or mineral turpentine into a storm drain you are effectively pouring it straight into the sea.

Using this item

Private collection, Evening Post Collection (PAColl-0614)
Photograph by Simon Nathan

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Gerard Hutching and Carl Walrond, 'Marine conservation - Pollution', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/5828/from-the-storm-drain-to-the-sea (accessed 13 May 2024)

Story by Gerard Hutching and Carl Walrond, published 12 Jun 2006, updated 1 Sep 2015