David Y. Ige

New Interactive Program Stresses Importance of Keeping Hawaii’s Storm Water System Clean

HONOLULU – Protecting the ocean, rivers, and streams from pollution is the focus of a new online learning series for kids launched by the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s (HDOT) Storm Water Management Program.

The Hawaii Storm Patrol Online Learning Series teaches keiki about Hawaii’s storm drain system and highlights the importance of preventing litter, debris, chemicals, and other pollutants from entering storm drains. The island’s storm drain system is designed to efficiently carry rain water off roadways to prevent flooding. However, in doing so, storm water runoff can often convey debris and pollutants through the system and release them directly into the streams or the ocean. Because storm water runoff is not treated, preventing storm water pollution is critical to the health of our environment.

The Hawaii Storm Patrol Online Learning Series features four engaging animated videos that explain the water cycle, how Hawaii’s storm drains work, different types of pollution, and the impact of storm water on our ocean and near shore waters. Characters from the popular Hawaii Storm Patrol: New Recruits booklet star in the series and offer tips to protect the environment. Each video is followed by a short quiz to help young viewers retain information. Students who complete the online learning series become an official recruit of the Hawaii Storm Patrol and can download a specially designed Zoom background to use for their virtual classes.

An instructor’s guide is also provided to help parents and teachers utilize the online learning series in a remote learning or classroom setting.

“Our in-person, in-classroom storm water presentations were well received by students and teachers. Keiki now understand the importance of protecting the environment and are eager to learn how they can help,” explained Jade Butay, Hawaii Department of Transportation Director. “We wanted to build on the success of our in-classroom program and creating a remote learning version enables us to reach more students and expand the awareness of storm water pollution prevention.”

The Hawaii Storm Patrol Online Learning Series is designed for third-grade students but is appropriate for learners of all ages. The free series is available at stormwaterhawaii.com and can viewed on a desktop, laptop, or mobile device.

About the Storm Water Management Program

The State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, Highways Division, Oahu District (HDOT) is responsible for the implementation of the Storm Water Management Program. This initiative is undertaken to comply with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit for the Oahu municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4). The Oahu MS4 qualifies as a large municipal separate storm sewer system since it services a population greater than 250,000 and is therefore subject to permitting requirements under the NPDES Program for storm water discharges. The program is designed to reduce, to the maximum extent practicable, the amount of storm water containing pollutants from entering and ultimately discharging from HDOT’s MS4 into the streams, rivers, and ocean that we all enjoy. For more information, visit https://www.stormwaterhawaii.com/