Art that Shows Where the Water Flows!
Design a Storm Drain Mural: In spring 2021, UNT students competed in the Scrappy's Storm Drain Artscape Competition to have their art publicly displayed on a campus storm drain. Made possible by the We Mean Green Fund, artists received $500 for their artistry in raising awareness about protecting water health and preventing litter. A review panel of students, staff, and faculty selected winning designs.
Why Storm Drains? Storm drains are essential units of city infrastructure that drain excess rainwater off of paved areas into natural bodies of water to prevent flooding. Like many cities, Denton's municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) drains directly from city streets, parking lots, and sidewalks to Lewisville Lake, a primary source of drinking water for the DFW metroplex. As stormwater moves to and through the storm drain system, it can pick up anything in its path including litter and pollutants. Storm water discharges into local waterways untreated, meaning it does NOT get cleaned at a water treatment plant. This means that litter and pollutants that wash through storm drains end up in creeks, rivers, and lakes and impact the environmental health of those ecosystems as well as the water quality for populations that depend on clean water. The storm drain murals bring awareness to the adverse impact litter has on our waterways all while promoting campus “Mean Green” pride!
Competition Finalists Selected
The storm drains were completed in May 2021 by the following UNT student artists. Read more about the 2021 artists.
- Kiana Kawahara - UNiTe - Keep Our Water Clean
- Zoe Pitts - Litter and Critters
- Savannah Thomas - We Are The Change
View images of the winning mural concept sketches on Twitter.
Competition Details:
Installation Duration - Installations will be reviewed annually to determine continued display, if a new piece should be installed in its place, or if art should be removed. UNT or the City of Denton has the right to remove art if it is determined that the installation should no longer be displayed.
2018 Competition: Read about the storm drain murals installed in 2018.
Read UNT College of Science's spotlight on Ecology major and storm drain muralist
Want to learn more about storm water? Check out UNT's Storm Water Management Plan, explore the Denton Watershed Protection program, and read about Denton County Storm Water.
Have a question about the competition? Email us at wemeangreenfund@unt.edu.