SALT LAKE CITY — Ned Martin keeps the storm drain in front of his home clean and free of debris.
"I care about the quality of the water going into the storm drains. This is Spring Canyon right here, there’s always water crossing the street. There’s always water flowing through," he said.
He's participating in a program Salt Lake City has started offering, having residents adopt storm drains in an effort to help keep the water cleaner. Matthew Hendrix, Salt Lake City Public Utilities' stormwater coordinator, said it helps on a number of fronts.
"One is to minimize localized flooding because as those drains... they do clog," he said. "The environmental benefits are that the concern that water ends up downstream somewhere. In this case, in Salt Lake City, it goes into the Jordan River."
For Martin, there's a bigger benefit than helping the environment.
"The big benefit is you get to name the storm drain. This is Stormy McSherwood," he said.
Salt Lake City Public Utilities has a map of dozens of adopted storm drains with some unusual names (they will allow them within reason — no crude or profane names). There's "Gratey McGrateFace," "Drainy McDrainFace," "The Toxic Sludge Collector," "The Watershed Warrior," "Anita Stormi-Flo" and even "Stormy Drainels."
"The Guzzler is a good one," Hendrix said.
Beyond the environmental effort, there is an educational component to it, too. The water going down drains in Salt Lake City is not treated, but goes into the Jordan River and ultimately, the Great Salt Lake.
"People can put a label on their drain that says this drain to a river so people are aware of it. Because that’s a big key in stormwater. We need people to be aware that water goes directly to a river or a water body," Hendrix said.
If you are interested in adopting a storm drain, you can get more information by clicking here.
