Storm Drain Marking Challenge

With the stroke of a brush, you can help protect our fish-bearing streams!

Each summer, the City of Surrey hosts the Storm Drain Marking Challenge to remind the public that storm drains in Surrey empty into fish-bearing streams. The water from storm drains enters streams untreated, so it is important to avoid putting pollutants such as oil, paint or soap down the drains. Only rain should go down the drain.

Leave a mark that makes a difference

This challenge, involving painting yellow fish known as ‘salmon tracks’ next to storm drains, is a fun, family-friendly initiative! The Storm Drain Challenge is open to everyone and runs from June 15–August 15. It is a chance for the community to get involved in environmental stewardship initiatives while having fun outdoors.

Get involved

Visit a participating recreation centre to borrow a marking kit:

The marking kits will include everything needed to paint the yellow fish symbols to help spread the message about the impact storm drains have on local streams.

Storm drain marking locations

There are tens of thousands of storm drains around the City and more than 3,550 drains have been marked in past challenges.

Check out COSMOS to see where to plan your storm drain marking route:

The storm drains show up as red, yellow, or green fish-shaped dots on the map.

Green fish dots represent drains that need to be marked
Yellow fish dots represent drains that may need to be remarked
Red fish dots represent drains that have been marked

Desktop computer instructions

Search “Salmon Tracks” and select “Salmon Tracks – Layer”
Search your address to find locations of storm drains in your neighbourhood in need of marking.

Mobile device instructions

Search either by your address or your current location
In the pop-up menu, click on ‘Layers & Legend’.
Click Infrastructure toggle to ‘ON’ and zoom in to show the fish dots on the storm drains.

Remember to put safety first as you plan your route! Pick storm drains only on streets with low vehicle traffic.

About the program

The Storm Drain Marking Challenge is part of the City of Surrey’s Salmon Tracks storm drain marking program in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to encourage the community to learn about salmon habitats and protect the water quality of our streams.