As we discussed in this December 2015 post, the Mills 50 Main Street District will be decorating their storm drains this year.

The Art Drains project is an educational art initiative that is meant to “promote the importance of storm drains” so residents will think more on where water flows after it enters a drain. Water flows, untreated, from the streets and into the lakes, ponds, and rivers the drains connect to.

There will be 25 drains being decorated or arted up by artists selected by Mills 50 Main Street coordinators. The size of the drains are about 4×6, but each piece is a bit different. That measurement includes the concrete slab around the drain itself. The manhole cover can be painted but the street cannot.

Entries are encouraged to include the message “only rain down the drain” and the Mills 50 logo somewhere in the design.

Selected art will be judged on a five point system. One point will be deducted if “only rain down the drain” and/or the Mills 50 logo is omitted from the submission. One bonus point will be awarded for local artists, i.e, a business within the District boundaries or a resident living within three miles of the intersection of Mills and Colonial.

Sketches must be submitted mailed to Mills 50, 1200 Weber Street, Orlando, FL 32803 or e-mailed to [email protected], no later than Friday, March 4.

Mills 50 will provide paint and materials up to $75, plus a $100 cash stipend for each of the selected artists.