Fall has finally arrived, bringing with it beautiful fall leaves and soon, we hope rain. Unfortunately, leaves left to accumulate on the ground can have negative impacts on both our roadways and waterways. Leaves that fall to the ground can clog the storm drains resulting in street flooding. Leaves that find their way into the storm drain begin to decay, which can be carried by rainwater directly to our creeks and rivers. Leaves deposited into creeks will begin to decay, using up the oxygen needed by fish and aquatic life, releasing nutrients that encourage weed and algae growth. Overly fertile water becomes cloudy and green – impairing swimming, boating, and fishing, and makes water unsafe for swimming and drinking.  

So please, do your part to protect our waterways by ‘Breaking out the Rake’ to keep neighborhood storm drains clear of grass, leaves and debris. Please remember, once you have collected your leaves and yard debris, keep the organic and natural materials out of your trash and local landfills by home composting, mulching, or placing them in your green organics bin where they will be diverted away from our landfill to nearby composting facilities. 

Remember, storm drains flow directly into local creeks. For more information, visit streetstocreeks.org.  

Before storm season, City crews work to clean out the thousands of storm drains located within the city. Although every storm drain cannot be cleaned before every storm, most storm drains are inspected before and during winter storms. Public Works crews are also on call during storms and respond to flooding concerns; 707-543-3800 and after-hours 707-543-3805.

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