As leaves continue to fall this season, the City of Grand Rapids is reminding residents to be aware of catch basins, more commonly known as storm drains, when removing leaves from their yards.
A City news releases says catch basins are storm sewer inlets designed to collect water during storm events; there are 17,000 of them across Grand Rapids. They are designed to filter out debris that would otherwise end up in the river. These basins are generally located next to street curbs, or in yards of residential areas and, while they generally catch large objects of debris, they are prone to becoming blocked with the fall leaves.
Officials say this can lead to unnecessary and unwelcomed street flooding. On average, and as part of a 5-year rotation effort, City crews clean 4,000 of the 17,000 catch basins annually. Residents can help in the prevention of street flooding by ensuring that their leaf raking (or blowing) efforts do not result in the blocking of the catch basins in their neighborhoods.
