Blue Broom Crew

Image of a woman sweeping her driveway with a blue broom.

Sweep it! Don't spray it!

Do you sweep or spray? When Strathcona County surveyed residents about water conservation, 48% of respondents admitted to watering their driveway or sidewalk rather than sweeping it off. Washing driveways and sidewalks wastes valuable drinking water and the runoff can impact water quality in our stormwater ponds.

Dirt, litter and chemicals like oil get washed onto the road where the runoff travels to stormwater management facilities. The water that enters our stormwater system does not go through a treatment process and eventually makes it all the way to the North Saskatchewan River.

It makes a difference

In 2015, Strathcona County partnered with Yellow Fish Road, which encourages:

sweeping driveways instead of spraying
changing lawn care companies to one that is more sustainable
reducing fertilizer and pesticide use
installing a rain barrel
cleaning up after pets
using a car wash instead of a hose

Blue Broom Crew is born

Since the pilot in 2015, households have been given a blue industrial broom and a lawn sign to encourage neighbours to follow in the crew member’s positive behaviour. Since 2016, 300 households have joined the Blue Broom Crew!