Drainage Issues

This content has been professionally translated in other languages.

Este contenido ha sido traducido profesionalmente a otros idiomas.

此內容已被專業翻譯成其他語言。

Nội dung này đã được dịch chuyên nghiệp sang các ngôn ngữ khác.

Qoraalkan waxaa si xirfad leh loogu turjumay luqado kale.

Ang nilalamang ito ay propesyonal na isinalin sa ibang mga wika.

이 콘텐츠는 전문적으로 다른 언어로 번역되었습니다.

ይህ ይዘት በሙያዊ በሌሎች ቋንቋዎች ተተርጉሟል።

Этот контент был профессионально переведен на другие языки.

このコンテンツは専門的に他の言語に翻訳されています。

እዚ ትሕዝቶ ብሞያዊ ኣገባብ ብኻልእ ቋንቋታት ተተርጒሙ ኣሎ።

Qabiyyeen kun ogummaadhaan afaanota birootiin hiikameera.

Public drainage infrastructure can have problems.

Seattle is experiencing more heavy rains due to climate change. Please prepare for winter’s wet weather, especially if you live in a neighborhood that experiences flooding like South Park.

La infraestructura de drenaje público puede tener problemas.

La ciudad de Seattle está experimentando más lluvias intensas debido al cambio climático. Prepárese para el clima húmedo del invierno, especialmente si vive en un vecindario que experimenta inundaciones como South Park.

公共排水基礎設施可能會出現問題。

由於氣候變化影響,西雅圖正面臨更頻繁的強降雨。請為冬季多雨天氣做好準備,特別是如果您住在像South Park這樣容易淹水的街區。

Cơ sở hạ tầng thoát nước công cộng có thể gặp sự cố.

Seattle đang trải qua nhiều trận mưa lớn hơn do biến đổi khí hậu. Xin quý vị hãy chuẩn bị cho thời tiết ẩm ướt vào mùa đông, đặc biệt nếu quý vị sống ở những khu vực thường xảy ra ngập lụt như South Park.

Kaabayaasha bullaacadaha dadweynaha waxay yeelan karaan dhibaatooyin.

  • Haddii ay jiraan xaalado degdeg ah oo la xiriira adeega dadweynaha, sida fatahaad ama biyaha is-taagay, fadlan booqo boggeena gurmadka adeega Tamarta
  • Haddii bullaacadaha roobka ay xirmaan (sababtoo ah caleemo, qashin, ama xannibaad), fadlan gudbi codsi adeeg ama isticmaal App-ka moobilka ee Magaalada Seattle ee la yiraahdo Find-It-Fix-It

Seattle waxay la kulmeysaa roobab culus oo sii kordhaya sababo la xiriira isbedelka cimilada. Fadlan is diyaari xilliga roobka ee jiilaalka, gaar ahaan haddii aad ku nooshahay xaafad ay fatahaado ka dhacaan sida South Park.

Maaaring magkaroon ng mga problema ang pampublikong imprastrastura ng drainage.

Ang Seattle ay nakakaranas ng mas malakas na pag-ulan dahil sa pagbabago ng klima. Mangyaring maghanda para sa basang panahon ng taglamig, lalo na kung nakatira ka sa isang lugar na nakakaranas ng pagbaha tulad ng South Park.

공공 배수 기반 시설에 문제가 생길 수 있습니다.

시애틀은 기후 변화로 인해 더 많은 폭우를 경험하고 있습니다. 특히 사우스 파크(South Park)와 같이 홍수가 발생하는 지역에 거주하는 경우 겨울 우기에 대비하십시오.

የህዝብ ፍሳሽ መሠረተ ልማት ችግር ሊኖረው ይችላል።

በሲያትል በአየር ንብረት ለውጥ ምክንያት የሚጥለው ከባድ ዝናብ እየጨመረ መጥቷል። በተለይ እንደ ሳውዝ ፓርክ (South Park) ዓይነት ለጎርፍ ተጋላጭ በሆነ ሰፈር ውስጥ የሚኖሩ ከሆነ ለክረምት እርጥብ የአየር ሁኔታ ይዘጋጁ።

Иногда в общественной системе водоотведения могут возникать проблемы.

Из-за изменения климата в Сиэтле участились проливные дожди. Пожалуйста, подготовьтесь к дождливой зимней погоде, особенно если вы живете в районе, где случаются наводнения, таком как South Park.

公共の排水インフラには問題が生じることがあります。

シアトルでは、気候の変動により大雨の頻度が高まっています。特にサウスパークなど、洪水が発生しやすい地域にお住まいの方は、冬の雨の多い天候に備えましょう。

ህዝባዊ መሰረተ ልምዓት መወገዲ ርስሓት ፀገማት ክህልዎ ይኽእል እዩ።

  • ንህጹጽ ናይ ህጹጽ ረድኤት ሓደጋታት፣ እንተላይ ማይ ምዕልቕላቕ ወይ ቓላይ ሓዊሱ፣ በጃኹምኣብ ናይ ህጹጽ ረድኤት ገጽና ተወከሱ።
  • ንዝተዓጽወ ናይ ቱቦታት ምፍሳስ ማይ (ብሰንኪ ቆጽሊ፣ ፍርስራስ ወይ ምዕጻው)፣ በጃኹምናይ ኣገልግሎት ሕቶ ወይ ድማ ናይ ምምሕዳር ከተማ ሲያትል Find-It-Fix-It መተግበሪ ሞባይል ተጠቐሙ።

ሲያትል ብሰንኪ ለውጢ ኩነታት ኣየር ዝያዳ ብርቱዕ ዝናብ ይወርዳ ኣሎ። በጃኹም ንናይ ክረምቲ ዝሕል ዝበለ ኩነታት ኣየር ተዳለዉ፣ ብፍላይ ኣብ ከም ሳውዝ ፓርክ (South Park) ዝኣመሰለ ምዕልቕላቕ ዘጋጥመኩም ከባቢ ትነብሩ እንተኾይንኩም።

Bu’uraaleen misoomaa balfa dhangala’aa maqsan rakkoon issan mudachuu danda’a.

Siyaatil jijjiirama haala qilleensaa irraa kan ka’e rooba cimaa keessummeessaa jirti. Gannaan walqabatee haala qilleensa roobaa dhufuuf qopha’aa, Keessumaa bakki jireenyaa keessan naannolee lolaa dhaaf saaxilaman, kan akka South Park taanaan, qophii gochuun keessan baay’ee barbaachisaa dha.

Drainage infrastructure exists on private and public property and, like any system, sometimes has problems. SPU is responsible for the public drainage system. Below we describe possible drainage issues on public property and what resources are available to help.

For urgent utility emergencies, please see our utility Emergencies page.

We also work to prevent and reduce the pollution our drainage system carries to local lakes, creeks and rivers. Please report water pollution concerns and learn how you can prevent pollution

Types of Drainage Problems

A clogged storm drain is caused by leaves, debris or a blockage preventing stormwater from entering a structure or drain. It can cause flooding or ponding.

People can reduce the likelihood of an impactful clogged drains through Storm Drain Care.

When you see a clogged drain, please submit a service request or use the City of Seattle’s Find-It-Fix-It Mobile App.

Flooding is an overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry. It can be caused by wet weather, rivers, human activities, and/or coastal events. SPU primarily responds to urban (rainwater) flooding; this is when rain overwhelms the capacity of the drainage system. More information about other types of flooding in Seattle is available on the Citywide Flooding Safety and Response page.

Urban (rainwater) flooding can be caused by:

  • Clogged storm drains—when leaves, debris, or a blockage prevent stormwater from entering a structure or a drain is backing up due to a blockage
  • Lack of drainage infrastructure
  • Lack of capacity within the local drainage system – during heavy or intense rain events then the drainage system may get overwhelmed
  • A creek overtopping its banks, or
  • The grade of the public right-of-way not allowing stormwater to be captured adequately 

For urgent urban (rainwater) flooding, please see our utility Emergencies page. If it is safe, take photos and videos of the issue.

 

Ponding is persistent and frequent, and occurs when water collects in the public right-of-way and impacts off-street parking areas and/the street. It rarely causes significant impact to private property.

Ponding can be caused by:

  • Clogged storm drains—when leaves, debris or a blockage prevent stormwater from entering a structure or a drain is backing up due to a blockage
  • A closed topographic contour (low spot)
  • Lack of drainage infrastructure
  • Lack of capacity within the local drainage system, or
  • Lack of slope in the public right-of-way not allowing stormwater to reach any infrastructure

For urgent ponding, please see our utility Emergencies page. If it is safe, take photos and videos of the issue.

For a clogged drain, please submit a service request or use the City of Seattle’s Find-It-Fix-It Mobile App.

Surfacing groundwater happens when underground water (from or headed to the aquifer) meets the ground surface. It is highly unpredictable and is influenced by underground changes and precipitation. It is more likely in areas where there are changes in topography (from steep to mild slopes), low soil infiltration rates, or permeable soils overlaying less permeable soils.

There are hundreds of known surfacing groundwater sites in the City. Property owners are responsible for managing surfacing groundwater impacts on their properties. Surfacing groundwater can cause safety concerns on the public right-of-way. SPU and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) work to protect the public right-of-way when there are significant impacts to street conditions.

For safety related concerns (like icy roadways), please contact SDOT at (206) 684-7623.

Drainage issues can cause soil, rocks and other materials to move or erode. This is more likely to happen in steep areas, and along street edges or unimproved sections (no drainage system) of the public right-of-way. 

Property owners are responsible for managing erosion and drainage on their property. Steep slope areas, known and potential slide areas, and flood prone areas within the City are all mapped and are all classified under the Environmentally Critical Areas (ECA) code administered by the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI).

Property owners who want to make drainage improvements need to know if the property is in an ECA. If the property is in an ECA, please be familiar with the related code requirements and contact SDCI before you begin work.

For urgent erosion on public or private property that is caused by stormwater from the public right-of-way, please see our utility Emergencies page. If it is safe, take photos and videos of the issue.

For less urgent erosion issues on public or private property that is caused by stormwater from the public right-of-way, please request a Drainage Investigation.

File a Damage Claim

If your property suffers damage from a flood caused by the public right-of-way, and there are associated financial costs, then you can file a claim with the City to seek reimbursement for those costs. Claims can be submitted online or you can download and mail a claim form.

Additional Resources

File a Damage Claim

If your property suffers damage from a flood caused by the public right-of-way, and there are associated financial costs, then you can file a claim with the City to seek reimbursement for those costs. Claims can be submitted online (or you can download a claim form) at Seattle City Finance File a Damage Claim page. 

Public Utilities

Andrew Lee, General Manager and CEO
Address: 700 5th Avenue, Suite 4900, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 34018, Seattle, WA, 98124-5177
Phone: (206) 684-3000
SPUCustomerService@seattle.gov

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Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is comprised of three major direct-service providing utilities: the Water Utility, the Drainage and Wastewater Utility, and the Solid Waste Utility.