Lexington to host a storm drain painting competition

A storm drain painting competition is coming to Lexington and all ages are encouraged to participate. The designs are meant to show a depiction of how residents can help keep the waterways clean.

“We hoped to spark discussion about water quality in Lexington while also beautifying our community with art,” said Citizens’ Environmental Academy member Eve Wallingford. “Residents expect the city to do their part to provide safe and clean water, but we all play a role in that as well, ensuring that we only have water going down the drain.”

Artwork must be submitted to the city by Tuesday, March 31 by 5 pm. Once your design has been approved and given a location, artwork must be completed by Sunday, April 26.

There will be a team of local artists and elected officials that will be the judges of this competition. There are four winner categories: Youth, Adult, Youth Organization, and Adult Organization.

Artwork will be judged on:

• How visually engaging and well-executed is the design?
• To what extent does the design communicate a message with respect to water quality, pollutants or other aspects of lessening our impact on local waterways?
• To what extent does the design incorporate features highlighting the local waterway, watershed or community/neighborhood feature?

Winners of the four categories will be announced at a gallery show in May. This show will also feature a photo of all the painted drains and have hands-on water activities.

The purpose of this contest is to educate Lexington residence about the flow of water in the city. The drains flow directly to local creeks/rivers and the water is not treated. It is important that water going through these drains are clean.

For more details, click here.