What is 'Yellow Fish Road'?
Nope. It's an 'educational initiative' sponsored by Trout Unlimited Canada, to evangelize the safe disposal of waste water, preventing pollutants from entering storm drains in order to protect water quality in lakes, rivers, and other aquatic habitats.
The problem is that most municipal storm drains carry their contents directly to the local water body, without passing through the sewage treatment facilities that household waste water does. Many people do not realize that storm sewers are a separate system from the household sewage system. That means that untreated motor vehicle oil, road salt, lawn fertilizer, soaps from car washing, and other pollutants regularly enter the ecosystem. Worse yet, ignorant and/or unscrupulous people may pour hazardous material directly into storm drains (cooking oils, leftover paint, 5 litres of blood, etc.).
It is the mission of Yellow Fish Road to educate people about the problems of pollutants entering the waterway untreated.
How does 'Yellow Fish Road' carry out its mission?
Volunteers learn about the issues of water quality, and then muster out into the streets, painting yellow fish on roadways or curbs near storm drains. They then follow up with a leaflet campaign in the painted area, explaining the meaning of the fish and the related issues. A number of the organization's programs are aimed at children's groups, as painting fish (with some supervision) and distributing door hanger flyers is a suitable activity for budding activists.
How can people help protect waterways?
Consider using eco-friendly cleansers and fertilizers, and disposing of more hazardous waste in a way which is safe. It can be as simple as pouring the soapy water you used to wash your car into your household drain (where it will be treated at the local wastewater plant) rather than dumping it into the street.
For more, see http://www.yellowfishroad.org/index.html (external link)