Why should we care about storm drains?

Most of the storm drains in Roosevelt empty directly into the nearest creek, stream, river, or wetland—without treatment. So whenever it rains, anything we’ve left on the ground like litter, vehicle fluids, dirty car wash water, dog poop and even the stuff we can’t see like yard chemicals, travels through our storm drainage system and pollutes our water.

However, there is a simple way you can help protect the water around you. You can pledge to adopt a storm drain. When you pledge to adopt a drain within the Assunpink watershed, you are doing something good for yourself, your community, and the ecosystem surrounding you. Adopting a drain means that you promise to clean a storm drain of your choosing, closest to your home after a weather event and monitor it for debris and buildup.

Here is what you will need:

• Work gloves
• A broom and/or shovel
• A disposable bag

HowTo’s:

• Clean only the surface of the storm drain grate and the area around it. Don’t attempt to clean the inside. If the drain seems to be plugged or have any problem, contact Roosevelt Public Works.
• Be mindful of your safety! There could be something sharp or otherwise harmful near the drain, so wear work gloves to protect your hands and be careful when removing debris. You might want to use a trash grabber if available. Set up orange cones, wear reflective clothing to make sure you are visible to cars and bring a friend to look out for traffic.

Dispose of the trash in your trash can.

Instructions:

• Click here to access the storm drain chart (it will open in a new window)
• Choose a storm drain convenient to your location and note its number on this form. That will be your drain to take care of.

You can begin caring for your drain right away!