UpStream Art Virtual Tour
Take a virtual stroll through 41 paintings located where our everyday choices flow into our rivers at our neighborhood drains.
Welcome to UpStream Art
UpStream Art is a mural painting project hosted by the City of Springfield’s Stormwater Team to promote healthy waterways and support local artists. Our current UpStream Art collection consists of 41 eye-catching murals located around storm drains in Springfield.
Held every summer since 2016, UpStream Art reminds us of the connection between city streets and local waterways. When it rains, the water washes over our city, carrying pollutants into storm drains and out to local streams. This pollutes the local water supply and harms the waterways we rely on for our health, recreation, businesses, and agriculture.
UpStream Art promotes healthy rivers by celebrating the ways we already prevent pollution and offering tips and inspiration for smarter water-related choices that can make a big difference in Springfield.
A key to understanding UpStream Art, is knowing the difference between wastewater and stormwater. In Springfield, these are two separate systems.
The wastewater system treats used water from inside our homes and businesses, while the stormwater system prevents flooding from rain. Wastewater is pumped to a treatment facility in Eugene where it is cleaned until it’s more pure than river water, and then it’s released into nature.
Stormwater is not fully treated. It flows through various storm drains, pipes, channels, etc., until it empties, untreated, into either the Willamette or McKenzie River. This means most pollutants going down the drains inside our homes get cleaned through our wastewater treatment system, but pollutants going down the outdoor storm drains do not get removed.
Here's the location for UpStream Art 2024. This year's project started with a Call To Artists in May.
From 44 submissions, four designs were selected by a panel of judges. In September, artists gathered in Thurston to paint their murals using special traffic paints.
UpStream Art is funded by stormwater user fees, not taxes, and artists are financially compensated for their work. The designs wear away over time since the murals are on pavement and are exposed to foot and vehicle traffic, yet Springfield’s Stormwater Team slows the fading process by applying a sealant every year.
UpStream Art Virtual Tour Map
There are two ways to explore UpStream Art.
1) Scroll down for our 12-minute online guided tour. The murals are numbered in each region from left to right. Our newest additions are at the top of the website. The Past Murals section features murals that have been removed due to wear and sun bleaching.
2) See it in person. With at least four more murals painted in the same area each year, it’s easy to pick a location and see a small collection of them.
Thurston
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Yolanda Elementary
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Downtown Springfield
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Agnes Stewart Middle School
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Adult Activity Center
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Booth Kelly Trailhead
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Past Murals
The following UpStream Art murals have been removed due to wear, sun bleaching, and other circumstances. Murals are resealed with a clear coat of paint every year to extend the life of the art. After about 5-7 years, however, it can’t be helped that the murals fade away. Here’s all the excellent UpStream Art works that have faded beyond recognition from the collection. The numbering refers to the order in which they were painted for UpStream Art.
Jessilyn Brinkerhoff (2016) Downtown
“This design tells the story of the creatures in the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers. It reminds us that our decisions affect the ecosystem that we enjoy year-round.”
Bayne Gardner (2016) Downtown
“My piece includes a colorful trout and heron surrounded by bright, oddly colored water. This represents how local wildlife is directly affected by the quality of the water that surrounds it.”
Christian Howarth (2016) Downtown
“A McKenzie River Redband Trout, jumps in front of a hand-painted sign, while the sun sets over snow-capped mountains that frame a valley with evergreens and a meandering river.”
The Artists
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Learn More
For more UpStream Art information visit the Stormwater Team’s UpStream Art page .
