Storm Drain Care

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) invites you to join a community of volunteers across the city who keep our local storm drains clear to reduce flooding and pollution, and ensure that only rain goes down the drain.

  • In fall, keep leaves, sticks and debris out of the drains. Rake them in your yard before they reach the drain.
  • In winter, keep snow and ice from blocking drains. Remove snow and ice from your local storm drain with a snow shovel, garden shovel, rake or other strong tool to prevent flooding or ponding.

What is a storm drain?

Storm drains can be identified by their grates and can be found on most paved surfaces. They prevent flooding in our streets by taking stormwater (rain that has hit the ground) and channeling it to underground pipes.

Most of Seattle’s storm drains empty directly to local water bodies like Lake Washington, the Duwamish River, and Puget Sound, meaning that pollutants on the road often travel untreated into the environment.

Take action today:

Check out our collective impact as of October 2024:

40,379 pounds (lbs.) of debris collected

3,372 Drains adopted

2,044 Adopters

Want to have an even bigger impact? You can also adopt the whole street through the Adopt A Street program.

Rake your leaves

If not collected, leaves can clog storm drains and pipes, leading to street flooding. By raking your leaves and keeping them out of streets and storm drains, 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. Put fallen leaves into a paper or compostable lawn and leaf bag or a reusable container with a lid. During November collection days, SPU will collect up to 10 additional yard waste bags or containers free of charge. During all other months, extra yard waste collections are charged a fixed rate.

Please do not put leaves and other yard waste in plastic bags.

More ways to prepare for wet weather. 

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.