SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine – The City of South Portland is proud to announce the launch of its new "Adopt a Storm Drain" program. Spearheaded by the City’s Water Resource Protection Department (WRP), the program engages the community in clearing storm drains, which helps to limit local flooding and prevent garbage from entering the stormwater system and polluting waterways and Casco Bay.
WRP has created a new webpage where the Department encourages volunteers to sign up to “adopt” a drain in their neighborhood. Volunteers select an available drain from the map, clear the drain’s surface on a schedule that works for them, and log each cleaning. The website shows the impact that the volunteers are making by displaying statistics like the number of drains adopted and amount of debris cleared. South Portland is among the first, if not the first, community in the state to offer an adopt-a-drain program with real-time data tracking.
WRP staff clean all of the City’s nearly 3,000 catch basins in the public right-of-way annually, removing the drain grate and extracting sediment and trash. However, many drains still become clogged with leaf litter, debris, snow and ice. During heavy rain or snowmelt events, clogged catch basins can result in localized flooding and property damage. Volunteers in the Adopt a Storm Drain program act as the first line of defense to help keep the surface level of the storm drain grates clear and draining properly. Removing leaves, trash, sediment and debris from the drain’s surface also helps keep pollutants out of Casco Bay, where stormwater eventually flows.
“We’re excited about the Adopt a Storm Drain program and the potential for our community to make a big difference in helping to reduce flooding and water pollution,” said WRP Director Fred Dillon. “We also hope the program is a reminder that garbage left on our streets could end up in our waterways, so it’s important to always pick up things like food wrappers and pet waste.”
Anyone interested in adopting a drain can sign up at www.southportland.gov/adoptadrain.
About the City of South Portland
The City of South Portland is a vibrant Southern Maine community of nearly 27,000 residents and over 1,500 businesses located on picturesque Casco Bay. www.southportland.gov
###