How Storm Drains Help During Hurricane Season
If you live in South Florida, you’re no stranger to hurricane season. Officially, hurricane season starts in June and runs through to December. 2022 is the third year of a La Nina weather pattern and even though meteorologists predict lower tropical storm activity than in the previous two years, it’s important to consider an often-overlooked aspect of hurricane preparedness—storm drains and storm drain cleaning.
What Is a Storm Drain?
Storm drains are designed to catch and carry runoff from surfaces. They capture water from streets, highways, parking lots, excess groundwater, and even runoff from roofs or gutters.
Storm drains, and basins are typically located near curbs in urban areas. Sometimes a storm drain is located in the street rather than the curb. They have a grate or a grid to prevent larger objects from falling through.
The excess water is channeled through pipes to an outlet located in a larger body of water. In short, storm drains provide a divergence for the increase of water produced by heavy rainfall and flooding in hurricane season.
How Do Storm Drains Work During Hurricane Season?
When tropical storms produce heavy rainfall across the state, larger bodies of water often overflow. The overflow from those lakes and estuaries combined with the excess water from coastal flooding leaves standing water with nowhere to go.
Instead, the excess water increases the risk of flood damage to homes and buildings. Plus, excess water can seep into sewage system pipes without an outlet, causing sewer leaks and spills.
Storm drains play a significant role in wastewater and flood damage management for coastal cities because they reduce the amount of standing water and prevent sewage from backing up into homes and streets.
Tips For Storm Drain Cleaning
Since storm drains reduce water and provide a divergence during a storm, they should be cleaned and properly maintained for hurricane preparation.
To do this, we recommend:
- Clearing any large debris from the front of the drain to allow water to flow through the grate
- Avoid disposing of chemicals like motor oil or paint in storm drains
- Dispose of yard waste like grass cuttings or tree trimmings in the appropriate bins instead of near a drain
- Clean up property ahead of a storm
- Schedule sewer system maintenance ahead of hurricane season to prevent a sewer system backup
Dumping chemicals into storm drains increases pollution since the water captured by the drain flows into larger bodies of water. During a storm, it’s common for large debris to block water access, but it isn’t recommended for residents to attempt to remove things like tree branches unless the weather conditions are safe.
Yard waste is a common cause of storm drain blockages, too. Because of this, residents should clean up excess yard waste before a hurricane to prevent blockages during heavy rainfall. Just one storm drain blockage can cause a backup with other storm drains in the same pipeline.
Art Rooter, Sewer & Drain Cleaning is a team of professional technicians that provide services for all your sewer needs. We provide drain and sewer clearing, sewer system backup service, repair, hydro jetting, pipe relining, preventative drain and sewer maintenance. Contact Art, Rooter, Sewer & Drain Cleaning for fast, reliable service from a team of fully licensed and insured technicians today. Schedule maintenance for your sewer system with our online scheduling service right from your phone. Tell us a few quick details about the issues, and then choose a convenient time for you for fast service.
