The City of Twin Falls is asking residents to remove leaves and debris from street curbs and gutters in order to help prevent localized flooding when snow and precipitation arrives.
It’s not necessary to remove all leaves as storm drains are designed to allow some debris, but residents can help by ensuring that leaves are not accumulating along street gutters and around storm drains. Simply removing these leaves can help the stormwater system channel water away from the street.
City stormwater drains are built to mitigate flooding by pulling stormwater away from city streets and into water retention basins. These water retention basins, which also serve as public areas when dry, are not safe to swim or play in because it is water collected from city streets. The water retention basins allow storm water to seep into the ground and overflow is sent into the canal system that discharges into the Rock Creek and Snake River Canyons.
When leaves fall in autumn they often wash down city storm drains and can combine with dirt and other debris to clog the drains. To prevent this, the City uses street sweepers to remove as many leaves from heavily effected areas as possible. But the community can help by removing leaves away from gutters and storm drains directly in front of their property.
City utility customers may place bagged leaves besides their trash bins for disposal on their regular pickup day at not additional cost.