Storm Drain Care
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) offers great ways that you can help protect our waterways and reduce pollution in your neighborhood.
Adopt a storm drain
Join a community of volunteers across the city who keep our local storm drains clear of pollutants to protect our waterways and reduce flooding. Seattle is part of Washington Adopt-A-Drain, leading efforts to protect Puget Sound!
Visit the web page above to sign up as a volunteer and name your drain(s). You can help keep only rain down our drains!
Stencil a storm drain
Have fun and help raise awareness to protect our waterways. Schools, families, community organizations and individuals are all welcome to paint a stencil next to storm drains in their neighborhood from April through October.
Rake your leaves
Leaves and debris can build up in our drainage system and on top of our storm drains. By raking your leaves and/or adopting your storm drain, you can reduce ponding and flooding in your neighborhood.
To help keep storm drains clear, SPU offers its household waste customers free extra yard waste pick up in the month of November, up to 10 extra bags every collection. Put the leaves that don't fit in your yard waste container into a paper or compostable lawn and leaf bag or a reusable container with a lid (no plastic!). Leave the extras next to the yard waste container on collection day.
Please note that this free service is only available to customers who are currently billed by SPU for regular food and yard waste collection.