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Westchester Resident Spearheads Efforts To Clean Up Long Island Sound

MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Mamaroneck resident Nancy Vincent is on a mission to clean up Long Island Sound. And that starts with labeling storm drains.

Nancy Vincent poses by a Mamaroneck drain.

Nancy Vincent poses by a Mamaroneck drain.

Photo Credit: Submitted

Vincent, who started the Stand Up Paddleboarding business SUPwestchester.com last summer, said she grew discouraged when, from her time spent on the water, she noticed a ton of bottles and trash floating in the Sound. 

When she had been in Los Angeles not long after, she noticed that all of their storm drains were painted with fish on the them and had "no dumping signs drains to waterways." When home, however, and walking her dog, she saw that Mamaroneck lacked the same signage. "A few of Mamaroneck's drains had these but not too many," she said. "Most are hard to read and damaged," she said. 

Which got her wondering about the need to raise awareness about creating "No Dumping' medallions. "I don't think people are aware that every time you liter/ dump into these drains it goes directly out into the Long Island Sound where we fish, swim etc.," she said. "A lot of people/children in the community think that the drains lead to a treatment or filtering plant but they don't."

The mom of three is now working with the town to label 2,000 storm drains. Her goal: to mark her first drain of the 500 she personally ordered come September. She already has the approval of the Town of Mamaroneck as well as a gaggle of volunteers, many of them concerned citizens like herself.

A longtime swimmer who grew up in Briarcliff Manor, she hopes to extend her mission to surrounding towns including Larchmont and Rye with the eventual goal of encompassing all the Sounds Shore towns up and down the coast.

Said Vincent: "As a community we should be doing anything we can to help heal the waterways."

Go HERE to access her fundraising page.

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