With breezy, rainy weather approaching, residents are encouraged to act now to prevent street flooding by gathering up autumn leaves and disposing of them properly.
Never rake, sweep or blow leaves into the street. Left in the street, leaves will clog stormwater catch basins and when rain can't flow down the catch basin, it will back up onto the street and cause flooding.
To prevent such problems, dispose of leaves properly; use curbside yard debris collection service, take them to a recycling center such as the Central Transfer & Recycling Center, or contain them in your yard for use as mulch or compost.
City crews work to keep streets free of debris and clean out each of the city's 1,300 stormwater catch basin drains annually. Autumn leaves are a challenge, so please take care to clean up leaves and never put leaves into the streets where they don't belong.
If you see flooding from clogged stormwater catch basins, please contact Public Works at 360-342-5350.