photo submitted by Tommy Lewis

Some may remember that the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association has reminded people through the years to use their brains and clean their drains.

Anyone who has been through a major storm or regular rainfall in New Orleans knows that clogged catch basins contribute significantly to street flooding.

The pumps can’t pump what they can’t get. If your catch basin is clogged inside, please call 311.  Otherwise, please clean the front of it today.   If you need help, get with your neighbors and clean all the catch basins on your street. If you still need help, write to info@fsjna.org and we’ll help you get it done.

A catch basin, which is also known as a storm drain inlet or curb inlet, is an opening to the storm drain system that typically includes a grate or curb inlet at street level where storm water enters the catch basin and a sump captures sediment, debris and associated pollutants. Catch basins are able to prevent trash and other floatable materials from entering the drainage system by capturing such debris by way of a hooded outlet. The outlet pipes for catch basins on combined sewers (sanitary waste and storm water in a single pipe) are also outfitted with a flapper (trap) device to prevent the backflow of any unpleasant odors from pipes. Catch basins act as pretreatment for other treatment practices by allowing larger sediments to settle in the basin sump areas.

It is important to maintain catch basins to prevent storm sewer blockages and minimize the amount of pollutants entering storm sewers which may eventually discharge into local streams and waterways such as Lake Ponchartrain. Clogged catch basins can also result in the ponding of water along streets and parking lots causing a nuisance to motorists, pedestrians and businesses.

How you can help: When you are clearing your sidewalk or driveway, dispose of waste in trash receptacles instead of sweeping it into the gutters or catch basins.

If leaves or other debris are blocking a catch basin near your house or business, remove and dispose of the debris properly.

Article from:
http://www.bwsc.org/PROJECTS/Maintenance/catchbasin.asp

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ONLY WATER GOES INTO CATCH BASINS

Please remind your friends and neighbors to make sure their yard maintenance contractors are not blowing stuff into the storm drains.

· Sec. 66-287.1. – Use of leaf blowers to transfer or direct debris to public drains prohibited.
(1)
Definitions.
Leaf blower. A mechanical, battery-operated or gasoline-powered device which projects pressurized air forward to cause movement of leaves, grass or other debris commonly associated with grass cutting, lawn care, gardening or yard maintenance activities.
Public drain. Includes catch basins or gutters located parallel to public rights-of-way, open segments of city subsurface drainage conduits, flood control and water path canals or drains located on public property and incorporated into the public infrastructure for wastewater management or scipening.
(2)
Use of leaf blower to impede or restrict drainage or water flow prohibited. Use of leaf blower for private or commercial use in any manner which causes or results in the transfer, movement or directing of grass, leaves, yard debris, debris derived from yard maintenance, lawn care or any activities whereby debris is accumulated and projected to public drains or results in impeded water flow of public drains or restricts the public designated purpose of such drains is prohibited by law. Violators shall be subject to citation or administrative adjudication by duly authorized code enforcement officers or duly authorized law enforcement officers.
(M.C.S, Ord. No. 21912, § 1, 4-7-05)

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THE CITY IS ASKING THAT YOU CALL 311 FOR
CATCH BASINS THAT NEED MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT TO CLEAR

If you have questions, or if your catch basin requires mechanical cleaning or maintenance, call 311 to report the problem.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:1) Clean litter and debris from the catch basins near your house. Also, clean the surrounding curb area, because any litter, leaves, or grass on the street or sidewalk can end up in the catch basin. Do not lift the drain cover or attempt to disassemble the catch basin; just clean what you can see. All you need is a pair of work gloves, a shovel or small rake, and a trash bag. Remember: If your neighbor is elderly or disabled, please help clean their catch basin too.

2) Dispose of trash and lawn clippings in trash cans. Do not sweep or blow yard waste into the gutters and catch basins. Remember: Trash in our streets ends up as trash in our lake!

3) Construction sites or sites with hazardous materials must take special precautions to properly dispose of their paint and chemicals. They should not sweep, blow or hose waste into the catch basins. Report any improper actions to the City of New Orleans by calling 311.

Residents are advised to stay at home during the severe weather unless an emergency makes it absolutely necessary for them to get on the road. The NOPD will ticket motorists who drive faster than 5 mph on streets with standing water.

The following is a list of streets prone to significant flooding during severe weather.

Calliope @ Claiborne towards Tchoupitoulas St
Calliope & Tchoupitoulas St On-ramps
I-10 and Tulane Exit towards Claiborne
Airline & Tulane Ave intersection
4400 Block of Washington
Washington Ave. near Xavier
All surrounding streets to St. Charles flooded, Gravier/Tulane/S Dupre, S Claiborne/Washington.
Claiborne/Orleans Ave.
S Carrollton/Palmetto
Magazine/St Mary
Broad/Louisiana Ave./S.Claiborne
Josephine/Prytania
Earhart/Jeff Davis-Carrollton
500 blk of Lake Marina
Canal Blvd/I-10/Navarre
Erato/S Genois/City Park/Carrollton
Washington Ave. near Xavier, Washington
Gravier/Tulane/S Dupre
S Claiborne/Washington
Simon Bolivar & Calliope coming from Loyola Ave under the overpass
Poland Ave from St Claude to N. Claiborne
S. Claiborne at Joseph
Holiday to the Crescent City Connection
Shirley and DeGaulle
DeGaulle under the Westbank Expressway
General Meyer from Pace to Shirley
Richland and General Meyer
MacArthur and Holiday
Tullis
Garden Oaks
Chelsea
Vespasian and Wall
The City’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is monitoring the severe weather and will keep residents updated through e-mail alert and the Twitter handle @nolaready.

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“Thought you would like to know that our front yard did beautifully yesterday!” This message brought to you by the owners of the Broadmoor house that used to get 8″ in their front yard after a hard rain who participated in the #FrontYardInitiative.

The driveway on the left and bioswale on the right now capture and slow water from entering the city’s system. Photo below shows what used to happen after a one-hour 2″ rain (Broadmoor got 5.49″ in a matter of hours on Aug 5.) Evans + Lighter Landscape Architecture Quality Sitework Materials Truegrid Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans. Details about the program in the link:
http://www.urbanconservancy.org/project/fyi/

The Front Yard Initiative is the Urban Conservancy’s response to excessive yard paving. Rampant front yard paving is a community issue that has broad and significant effects on the city of New Orleans from stormwater to safety.

Stormwater management in New Orleans has been characterized by regularly overwhelmed drainage systems, excessive paving and pumping that has depleted groundwater levels and led to a sinking city, and urban water assets being wasted while hidden behind walls, underground, or pumped into the river and lake. All of these issues and the failure of traditional infrastructure (levees, pipes and pumps) to protect the city from Hurricane Katrina, continuous flooding, and subsidence has led to a shift in mindset regarding the most effective and thoughtful way to manage stormwater in South Louisiana. It is clear that the single-minded approach of rushing stromwater over pavement, into pipes and pumping it out of the city needs to be reevaluated.