Next time you’re walking through downtown Petaluma, you might notice some bright new reminders right under your feet.
Per the Petaluma Argus-Courier, the city has launched a high-visibility curb-painting campaign on storm drains to warn residents that anything washed into the gutter flows directly into the Petaluma River—completely untreated.
Unlike the water from your kitchen or bathroom, street runoff bypasses treatment plants and carries pollutants like soap, pet waste, and pesticides straight into local wetlands. Public Works crews have already marked ten key locations as part of the regional “Streets to Creeks” initiative. The city hopes these warnings will encourage locals to use commercial car washes and properly dispose of hazardous waste at the county landfill.
Officials say the program will continue to expand as they push to keep the river clean.