City of Bend urges residents to be proactive and help keep storm drains clear

Community members' efforts can help reduce flooding issues

(Update: Adding video, comments from city official, store owner)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- With the recent snowfall, and the likelihood of more to come this winter, the city of Bend is asking you to help keep storm drains clear near your homes, to prevent flooding or minor puddling issues.

“When you have a rain and snow event like we recently had, our five-man crew has a difficult time assessing all of the 11,000 catch basins we have throughout the city of Bend," city Utility Field Operations Manager Troy Beck said Thursday.

As a way to prevent flooding, Beck said it's important to shovel snow and debris off of and away from storm drains.

"Pine needle leaves, various other debris," Beck said. "Sometimes trash, what we refer to as 'floatables,' will make it down onto that grate and clog it. In an event like this, where you have fairly heavy snow, and it’s wet heavy snow, it also will clog it. So as long as we can keep the grate clean, it will probably perform just fine."

He also advised against parking over storm drains.

Some places are known for being problematic areas.

"The ReStore, Habitat for Humanity, off of Third Street," Beck said. "We currently have a storm water improvement project going there, and that has been a traditionally problematic area that we would respond to very quickly.”

The CEO of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Scott Rohrer, said it would often take a group effort, including volunteers, to shovel the snow away from drains to keep the area from flooding. In some severe cases, he said, the store has flooded.

"We're at the lowest point in this whole area, so the water comes from pretty much every direction to right here," Rohrer said. "We certainly have to keep the ice off. I mean, when we get a lot of precipitation and then freezing and that, we're out here breaking ice all winter long, basically, to make sure they don't ice over. Because if that happens, this becomes an ice skating rink, swimming pool."

The city of Bend has created an interactive map, allowing people to locate storm drains near their homes.

Since the melt-off has been slow, Beck said, there has not been too much of a problem this week.

If there's heavy snow melt, followed by hotter temperatures, flooding becomes a bigger concern.