The Yellow Fish Road Program educates the public about the dangers of dumping unwanted household hazardous wastes - such as used motor oil, paint, and solvents - down storm sewer drains (catch basins).

These dangerous practices can harm fish and wildlife and reduce the quality of our drinking water. Most people are unaware that water flowing into storm sewers flows untreated into local watercourses, and eventually into Lake Ontario. A common misconception is that storm water is treated at a sewage treatment plant - it is not!

The Yellow Fish Road Program is a hands-on environmental project that allows people to make a difference by helping to educate community members about water pollution. Trout Unlimited Canada introduced the Yellow Fish Road Program in Calgary in May 1991. Since then, more than 220 communities across Canada have approved or implemented this water quality initiative.

Yellow Fish Road volunteers in Mississauga paint Yellow Fish stencils on curbs next to roadside catch basins. Volunteers also distribute fish-shaped brochures to nearby households. These activities remind people to dispose of unwanted household products in an environmentally-responsible way, and not to dump them down a storm sewer drain.

Why the Yellow Fish Road?

Nationally, Canadians generate more than 60,000 tonnes of household hazardous waste (HHW) annually. The waste may be toxic, corrosive, flammable or explosive. Because of these potential dangers, household hazardous waste requires special care when being stored, transported or disposed of.

Examples of household hazardous waste include old car batteries, lighter fluid, paint, turpentine, gasoline, used motor oil, antifreeze, pool chemicals and pesticides.

Household hazardous waste should never be dumped into a storm sewer drain because these catch basins drain directly into local rivers, streams and lakes - untreated.

The Yellow Fish Road Program is Rolling Along in 2011!

The City of Mississauga extends grateful thanks to our 2010 and 2011 volunteer groups for their hard work in promoting awareness of pollution prevention and clean water in our City Storm Drainage system.

Did you know?A study released this spring reveals that 35 percent of adult Canadians still think that storm drains connect to a waste water treatment plant. (2011 Canadian Water Attitudes Study Courtesy of Unilever Canada and RBC)

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Any pollution in our storm drains flows to our streams and not to a treatment plant....Into a grate, out to our Lake!

The Yellow Fish Road program strives to educate Canadians about what we can all do to keep our rivers, lakes, and streams free of pollution.

Want to learn more?

To participate in the Yellow Fish Road Program in Mississauga, please contact:

Michelle Charbonneau
Environmental Services Specialist
Tel: 905-615-3200 ext. 3124
E-mail: michelle.charbonneau@mississauga.ca