With breezy, rainy weather upon us, City residents are encouraged to act now to prevent localized street flooding by gathering up autumn leaves and disposing of them properly.
Never rake or blow leaves from your yard into the street. City street sweepers are no match for piles of leaves - street sweepers sweep but they don’t vacuum. Leaves left in the street clog stormwater catch basin drains. When rain can't flow down the drain, it backs up onto the street causing flooding.
To prevent such problems, residents should dispose of leaves properly by using a couple of different options. Utilize curbside yard debris collection service through Waste Connections (360-892-5370) or contain leaves for use as mulch or compost.
City stormwater crews work to keep streets free of debris and clean each of the City's approximately 1,300 stormwater catch basin drains each year. 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.
Should stormwater catch basins become clogged and cause street flooding please contact the City’s Operations Center at 360-342-5350.