Down the drain

Dear Editor:A recent article concerning L.A. County allocating funds to certain cities for storm drain cleaning is a great idea. Downey is one of the cities that will receive some of those funds. Walking along the streets of our city we often see many storm drain openings and a notice over these drains, "No Dumping: This Drains to Ocean." This means that every scrap of paper, every cigarette butt, animal droppings, chewing gum wrappers, plastic items etc. all go directly to the ocean via storm drains. Particularly troublesome are discarded cigarette butts, which are lightweight that readily float to the surface of rainwater or irrigation water then directly to the ocean. Occasionally, after heavy rains, we see photos of huge, tightly-packed non-biodegradable cigarette butts floating on the surface of the water. Disgusting. We spend millions of dollars cleaning our storm drains but it is an exercise in futility unless we radically change our wanton habit of throwing debris on the streets. Remember the old expression: "It will be money down the drain." - Byron Dillon, Downey

********** Published: August 14, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 17