Thousands of Minnesotans adopt storm drains for cleaner waterways, neighborhoods
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. -- Fall street sweeping begins this week in St. Paul and Minneapolis with the goal of preventing leaves and other debris from entering the sewer system and waterways. Thousands of Minnesotans are also helping out by adopting drains in their neighborhoods which they volunteer to clean.
"We have a very active community that does care about what our neighborhoods look like and keeping our streets clean and the Mississippi is just a couple miles away so that's another part of it right, yeah we care," Columbia Heights resident Stephanie Small said.
Stephanie is among more than 12,000 people who have adopted more than 21,000 drains across Minnesota. Drain adopters have removed more than 628,000 lbs of debris that would have otherwise polluted the waterways.
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"We do love when people are able to report how much they're cleaning from drains because that helps us work with cities and actually see what impact we're having," assistant program director Sofie Wicklund said.
The nonprofit program is now in seven states.
"It's really easy, you just type in your address and see what drains are near you and then you can click on the drain and adopt it," Wicklund said.
Adopters can also give their drain a fun name. Kim Flanghan adopted three in her Eagan neighborhood and has seen the need firsthand.
"When it was raining so hard, I was out and there was a lot of places you were hydroplaning because the drains were so clogged so it's definitely a safety issue as well," she said.
City officials in Minneapolis and Saint Paul remind residents that it is illegal to rake leaves into the street.
To find out when your street is next in Minneapolis, click here.
To learn more about Adopt-a-Drain, click here.
