Pine Hills residents can help protect local streams Saturday morning by gluing "No Dumping" placards on storm drains throughout their neighborhood, no sign-up required.

The City of Brookhaven's Stormwater Division is hosting its annual Storm Drain Marker Volunteer Event on Saturday, Aug. 15, at Shady Valley Park, 2720 Shady Valley Dr. NE. Volunteers who want to cover non-HOA streets should arrive at 8 a.m.; those helping with HOA streets can show up at 9 a.m. The city will provide all materials.

The markers matter because stormwater flows from neighborhood drains directly into area creeks without treatment. Anything dumped or swept into those drains, including litter, grass clippings and household chemicals, ends up in the waterway.

"The event is a community stormwater education and pollution-prevention effort," Brookhaven Public Works director Jeffrey Littlefield said in the city's announcement. "Volunteers will identify storm drain inlets and place informational markers reminding residents that stormwater entering the drainage system can carry pollutants directly to local waterways."

The event focuses on the Brookhaven portion of Pine Hills in District 4. The Stormwater Division has run the program in prior years, rotating through different neighborhoods.

No tools needed. Just show up at Shady Valley Park ready to walk neighborhood streets and stick markers on drains.