Check out the 41 murals in our collection!
UpStream Art is a storm drain mural painting project hosted by the City of Springfield’s Stormwater Team. Held every summer since 2016, the project commissions Oregon artists to paint murals at storm drains to call attention to stormwater infrastructure that surrounds us, is affected by us, and permanently impacts water quality, wildlife, and the waterways we share.
UpStream Art is funded by stormwater user fees (not taxes). It helps meet federal, state, and local rules that require the City to educate the public about stormwater. Because individual behaviors are the main source of stormwater pollution, regulations require the City to talk with the public about stormwater and how to prevent various types of pollution. UpStream Art is a fun way to remind everyone that streets and rivers are connected while supporting the arts and healthier rivers.
It’s up to you to help keep pollution from accumulating in your neighborhood and washing into the stormwater system. Thank you for doing your part to protect our water supplies and rivers!
Virtual Tour
Check out the UpStream Art Virtual Tour to see all murals, artists, and locations in our collection!
Meet the 2024 artists!
Holly Glaspey
Silas Thoms
Kyla Cooper-LeBlanc
Taylor Perris
About UpStream Art
UpStream Art background
Since 2016, UpStream Art has been run by the City of Springfield’s Stormwater Team. The project supports local artists and helps protect water quality by commissioning murals around storm drains, reminding everyone that our streets and rivers are connected through the public stormwater system.
The program is funded by stormwater user fees, not taxes, and it’s a fun way to state and federal requirements to educate the public about stormwater and pollution prevention.
Each year, artists are invited to submit designs in the spring, with a panel of judges selecting the winners. The murals are painted over two days in the summer, and you can see all the murals online in the UpStream Art Virtual Tour.
These murals spark conversations and remind us that storm drains lead directly to rivers. Springfield’s stormwater system was built by our predecessors to prevent flooding and it does not clean the water before it reaches the river. This is why it’s important to keep chemicals, litter, and debris off paved areas and prevent them from washing into storm drains.
Thank you for your interest in UpStream Art! We hope it inspires you to learn about stormwater, and act to keep our land and water clean and healthy.
1) We value Springfield's waterways.
They’re a vital yet easily overlooked part of our City that we rely on for relaxation, recreation, and resources. The biggest threat to our waterways is pollution from urban runoff, which is why we discuss storm drains and behaviors that pollute stormwater.
2) We support the arts and artists.
Artists create and spread important ideas, meaning, and culture. We proudly support them and pay every artist who installs an UpStream Art mural. Their creations inspire us, entertain us, attract visitors, and beautify the City.
What is stormwater?
As Springfield has developed, more areas have become covered by buildings, asphalt, concrete, and more. Without realizing it, these structures disrupt an important part of the water cycle.
Normally rain filters into the ground and joins the water supply but when solid surfaces cover the ground the rain instead flows over roofs, driveways, and streets. There would be floods every time it rains, but Springfield has developed a dynamic stormwater system that collects rain and directs it into local rivers and streams. The stormwater system consists of gutters, storm drains, catch basins, channels (or ditches) along roadsides, swales, underground pipes, ponds, and more.
As rain flows over the City, it picks up pollutants from our solid surfaces and washes them into the stormwater system and out to our waterways where it can harm aquatic life and our water supplies – the McKenzie River to the north, and the Willamette River to the south. These rivers are vital to our way of life! Pollutants include everyday items like yard fertilizers or herbicides, oil from our cars, zinc from moss killers, little pieces of litter including cigarette butts, debris from pressure washing, and even soaps and grease from car washing.
These and other pollutants have a harmful effect on aquatic life and the health of our water supplies. It’s why we say, “Only rain down the storm drain!”
To learn more about how you can help prevent water pollution, read this Prevent Stormwater Pollution resource and check out our Clean Water at A Glance factsheets.
Contact Us
- For general information, please contact the City of Springfield’s Stormwater Team at WaterResources@springfield-or.gov or 541-726-3694.
- Artists interested in applying for the next UpStream Art mural painting project can either visit this webpage or the City of Springfield’s Facebook page in mid-July 2024, or can click the button below to sign up to receive emailed updates. A panel of judges selects our winners and those artists are paid for installing their paintings.
