A North Texas artist is decorating storm drains in Denton to draw attention to water issues in the city.
"You don't typically see it [art] on the ground or over a drain cover," Kiba Jacobson said.
The painted canvases are the first phase of a project that's meant to be permanent. The pictures are meant to make people slow down and think about what's going down the drain.
"We want the art to surprise [people], and they see it and say, 'Wow! What's that?'" said David Hunter, city watershed protection manager.
The storm drainage system is a vital part of the city's infrastructure, but the only thing highlighting that are small signs on top of the drains.
"Water is one of our valuable resources. It's one of our most valuable resources," Jacobson said.
Hunter helped come up with the idea of putting art on the storm drains to show instead of tell.
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"If we think about it, I can talk about regulations and chemistry and biology and ecology until I go blue in the face, and a lot of people's eyes are going to glaze over," he said. "Art, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. If we have a really cool picture, it is going to be worth even more."
