Water backups often cause big problems. After a storm or a particurarly windy day, be sure to check outside your home for storm drains that may be covered by leaves and debris. Rake the leaves from your yard, parking strip, and sidewalk and put them in the compost bin, or use them on your garden for mulch.
Prevent Clogs
If the drains along the street edge or sidewalk become clogged, water can back up into your yard, driveway, and home. Sometimes clogged drains contribute to flooding across entire streets in a neighborhood. Work with your neighbors to clean out the leaves and prevent your street and surrounding areas from flooding.
Help City Workers
The City of Seattle uses large trucks with vacuums to suck up the leaves and dirt from clogging the storm drains. But the city of Seattle has thousands of drains and the workers cannot get to them all. The city needs your help to keep all of the storm drains clear to prevent flooding.
Keep An Eye Out
Keeping the drains clear is not just important when it rains. Snow also has a huge impact on drains. While temperatures remain at freezing or below, the streets may be dry, but when the snow melts, all of that stored water needs somewhere to go. The storm drains provide a critical function to remove that water quickly.
You can help yourself, your neighbors, and the city by keeping an eye on the drains near your home and clearing them of any obstructions.
Keep Water Flowing
If a storm drain overflows and you are experiencing urgent flooding, call the 24/7 City Emergency Services line at 206-386-1800. We all need to pitch in to keep the water flowing.