The Battle for Health
One beautiful summer day, residents had gathered at the local lake for a fun day of playing in the water. Just one week before a summer squall had settled over the area, dumping historic amounts of rain--so much rain that everyone was forced to stay inside for days. Now that it had passed and the sun was out, the air was charged with everyone’s excitement about being outside and recreating in the sun and warmth of the day. The joy of this summer celebration turned to pain though, as days later citizens lined up at the local emergency room with itchy, painful skin rashes, and many people were very sick. As doctors interviewed patients it became clear that all these people had been at the same park, swimming in the same lake, on that bright sunny day.
The health department called the Stormwater Defenders to investigate, and Spectro was first on the scene. With his trusty grate hook, Gancho, lighting the way, Spectro did a thorough investigation of the underground storm system that connected nearby infrastructure to the lake and surrounding park area. Finding nothing unusual, he headed back to the surface where he noticed some unusual advertising flyers on the telephone poles. One was for a dog walking service for free. “That’s generous,” he thought to himself. Another flyer advertised a huge discount on very expensive lawn fertilizer. It was a little odd, but not out of the ordinary, so he didn’t pay too much attention. Returning his focus to finding the source of the health issues at the lake but frustrated at not finding an obvious solution, he started walking. Turning a corner at the park he found a man tangled in a web of a dozen leashes of dogs walking around in all directions, while two other people nearby also struggled numerous leashed dogs. Spectro headed toward them, dodging piles of dog poop as he drew nearer. As he approached, he said to the would-be dog walkers: “Wow that is a lot of dogs. Are they all yours?” The young lady dog walker replied, “No, they aren’t mine. I work for Pup Walk Free. So do those guys. Our boss told us to bring the dogs here to walk them.” Spectro looked at the three, and said to all of them, “Please use the dog poop bags to pick up after your pups. The park provides poop bag stations if you don’t have your own, and there are garbage cans throughout the park to dispose of the bags after you’ve used them.” One of the other dog walkers spoke up, “We were told we would be fired if we spent any time picking up poop – our business requires us to just keep walkin’!.” That response did not make sense to Spectro, so he got Sarge on coms. “Have you heard of Pup Walk Free?” Spectro asked Sarge. “I have not,” Sarge replied, “but I will research an address for you.”
Click on Spectro's Image to read his Origin Story
Spectro left the dog walkers to their canine customers and was walking out of the park when he noticed a worker applying a heavy amount of fertilizer on the grassy playing fields. He approached the parks worker and said, “That is quite a lot of fertilizer you are putting down – did you check the directions for this product?” The worker looked up and said, “Yep, my boss wants these fields green fast, and because this stuff is so cheap at Farm Bulk Bargains we got a bunch of it! He told me to use it all today so we can have plenty piled up on the grass before the next rain.” Immediately Spectro got back on coms and said, “Sarge while you are looking at the dog walking service, check out Farm Bulk Bargains!” “10-4,” was Sarge’s quick reply. While Sarge got to work on the investigation at headquarters, Spectro explained to the parks worker that plants can’t actually use excess fertilizers, so ‘more isn’t’ better’, and that when it rains all that extra just washes off into the nearest pond, stream, or lake, like the one everyone was swimming in! He further explained, “If you add more fertilizer than the grass can take up, the rain washes off what’s left, and that causes toxic algae blooms in the lakes, rivers, and streams. Those blooms are hazardous to fish, and can be hazardous to humans and pets, too!” He showed the worker the instructions on the bag of fertilizer, and they talked about how to calculate the correct amount of fertilizer to apply and how often. “Just because you got a lot of it for cheap, doesn’t mean it’s ok to use it all at once. You’ll pollute the environment here where you work, and where people play. We need to Keep Clean Water Clean!” The parks worker finally understood and said he would take what he learned back to his boss and share with the other parks team members, too.
Spectro then noticed that people were feeding geese down by the water. He approached them and politely communicated, “Feeding geese can pollute the environment in a variety of ways, from uneaten food to droppings. Goose droppings damage property, pose health issues, and can become aesthetically unpleasant and quite annoying. Birds that rely on humans for food lose their natural fear and may place themselves in dangerous situations. While I know it is fun, it is not the best thing for the birds or the lake.” The citizens understood and told Spectro, “We didn’t realize that but it makes sense. Thanks for letting us know.”
Click on Tox-Ick's Image to read his Origin Story
By that time, Sarge had completed his research into the two businesses suspected of contributing to water quality pollution. After receiving the addresses for the dog walking and farm supply companies from Sarge, Spectro headed to Farm Bulk Bargains to visit with the store manager. He recalled the numerous marketing flyers he had seen around town and suspected there may be a connection. As he arrived at the store he saw a mysterious vehicle offloading materials in the loading bay. Spectro reached up to his ear and muttered, “Sarge, something is not right at this facility. I just saw some materials being offloaded at the farm store, and they didn’t look like farm supplies. I’m going to head to the dog walking service office to see what I can find out there.” Instead, Sarge responded quickly, “Spectro, cancel that. Return to headquarters ASAP. I have something you are going to want to see. We are sending Super Sampler to the area right now to post educational and awareness signs for the public, then she’s headed to the lake with the City parks department to help them write a cleanup plan. She will monitor the situation, the water quality, and the health of the people from there.”
Spectro rushed to headquarters, wondering what the rest of the team had discovered about the sources of pollution. When he arrived, Sargeant Stormwater immediately pointed to his computer where business licenses for the dog walkers and farm store were displayed. “These are the businesses you found, both owned by Off Earth Industries. We’ve looked at the security footage of Off Earth’s main address and saw this.” The video, despite being taken at dusk as night descended on the scene, clearly showed Tox-Ick in a heated negotiation with a figure standing in the shadows. The shadowy figure appeared to be The Baron. “We can’t confirm who the other person is, although we are pretty sure we know who it was. Listen to this,” said Sarge. In Tox-Ick’s gurgling voice they heard, “If I make it worse, they will have to listen. They will have to know we are doomed on this planet.” Sarge paused the recording and looked at Spectro for his reaction. “We sent the authorities to the site but Tox-Ick was nowhere to be found. The authorities have started shutting down the other Off Earth operations now that we have these addresses, but he’s not going to stop.” If The Baron is funding his enterprises, I need to find him while there is still a trail to follow.” Spectro responded emphatically. Sarge agreed, saying urgently, “Your inspections have found the link to all this. Great job! Go! Find Tox-Ick. In the meantime, we will install the pet waste stations and start an education campaign to counteract the lies being told by Tox-Ick that proper use of fertilizer and disposal of pet wastes matters.”
The hunt for Tox-Ick continues, but Spectro and his trusty grate hook, Gancho, are on his trail.
A Call to Action
The park was transformed, but the work didn't stop there. The Stormwater Defenders reminded the community that small actions - like cleaning up pet waste, avoiding over-fertilizing, and disposing of trash responsibly - could make a big difference for the environment.
Want to join the fight against pollution?
Download the coloring page of this scene and create your own version of a cleaner, healthier park!
As you color, think about what you can do to protect lakes and streams in your community. Draw what BMPs you would use to help keep the waters clean.
Download The Defenders Pledge and continue to fight the good fight for clean water!
Together, we can all be Stormwater Defenders!
Post your colored scene on the Stormwater Defenders Facebook and comment about how you can help protect lakes and streams in your community!
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