Seattle Public Utilities Activates Urban Flood Response Plan
Extra Drainage Crews Placed on Alert in Anticipation of Heavy Rain

For immediate release: 11/6/08
For more information, Contact:
Seattle Public Utilities Customer Service, (206) 684-3000

SEATTLE — In anticipation of several days of heavy rain, Seattle Public Utilties (SPU) has activated its Urban Flood Response Plan — staging extra drainage crews throughout Seattle, deploying storm observers to various at-risk sections of the city, and doubling the number of emergency call-takers at its Operations Response Center.

The National Weather Service is forecasting nearly five inches of rain through Monday. The Utilities’ flood plan is typically put in motion when it either receives 10 customer calls within a 20-minute period, or it is believed the forecast warrants such action. The plan has been activated fewer than 10 times in the past two years.

Under the flood plan, SPU’s 16 drainage truck crews drop their normal maintenance duties and stand by to field emergency calls. If the volume of calls becomes high enough, additional crews can be brought in from the SPU’s drinking water operations section and other areas of the Utilities.

Sand bag materials (bags and sand) are being made available to the public, limit of 15 per customer please, at the Meadowbrook Center (directions) and Delridge Community Center (directions).

“Between midnight and 6 this morning we didn’t receive any calls — but if the forecast holds true, that number will pick up,” said department spokesperson Carrie Parker. “We’ll be staging crews throughout the city, and we should have a very quick response time if calls start to come in.”

To report flooding or blocked drains, please call (206) 386-1800.

Seattle Public Utilities has been asking for the public’s help in keeping Seattle’s 78,000 street drains — the city’s first line of defense against storms — free of debris. Although all of the drains have been recently inspected, and cleaned if needed, at this time of year the combination of changing weather and falling leaves can clog drains on a moment’s notice, creating the possibility for flooding.

Cleaning a blocked street drain is simple: using a rake, just scrape the debris from the drain and place it in your yard waste cart. If you don’t have a rake or other drain-cleaning implements, consider joining SPU’s new Adopt-a-drain program. The city provides free leaf pickup for volunteers, and provides all of the materials needed for cleaning drains. Since the program started last fall, some 200 volunteers have signed up for the program, and are helping to maintain about 800 storm drains.

To sign up for the program, please visit SPU’s Adopt-a-Drain Web site,, or call the Adopt-a-Drain hotline, at (206) 684-7647. Leave your name, phone number, and address and we will send you everything you need — gloves, bags, rakes, brooms, safety vests, and shovels — to get started.

Seattle Public Utilities has also been urging residents to familiarize themselves with a wide range of emergency resources — including tips on preventing and responding to floods, bad weather driving recommendations, landslide prevention advice, and information on emergency food and shelters.

Learn more about these resources at the Take Winter by Storm Web site, maintained by King County, the City of Seattle and Puget Sound Energy.

Preparation tips on the Take Winter by Storm Web site include:

• Assemble an emergency kit with a battery-powered radio, flashlight, extra batteries, a first-aid kit, a fire extinguisher, bottled water and three days of non-perishable food and drinking water. Store a kit at home, work and in your car.

• Stay out of the way of flood waters. Play it safe and stay out of low-lying areas during times of heavy rains. If your basement is prone to flooding, stay out of the basement until the risk of flooding has passed.

• Keep storm drains clear to prevent flooding. Don't put grass clippings, leaves or other debris into drains, ditches, creeks, culverts, gutters or ravines. (It’s against the law.) If you live at the base of a hill or on a cliff, ensure that drainage and retaining walls are in good shape. Preventative planting can also help reduce the chance of a mud slide or flooding.

• Sign up for Seattle’s “Adopt-A-Drain” program. Contact the program at (206) 684-7647 or:adoptadrain@seattle.gov. Participants will be provided with free gloves, bags, brooms, rakes, and safety vests, as well as help with leaf disposal.

• Maintain gutters and downspouts. Twice a year, clean your gutters and the drainage downspouts attached to your roof. Direct flows from downspouts away from your home, without discharging flows to adjacent properties.

• Get snow route information for driving and transit in advance of roads being closed.

• Do not use charcoal or a gas grill to cook indoors. Carbon monoxide can be deadly.

• Establish an out-of-area contact for family members to call should the local phone system be out of service.

Through the end of December, public service announcements on local television and radio stations, as well as broadcast news, King County, the City of Seattle, and PSE Web sites, will remind residents to prepare for winter weather. The Web site, www.takewinterbystorm.org, which will be up year-round, provides preparation and safety tips and links to regional resources for information about the weather, power outages, flooding, shelters and assistance agencies.

In addition to providing drainage services in Seattle, SPU provides more than 1.3 million people in the metropolitan area with a reliable water supply and provides customers in Seattle with essential solid waste and sewer services that protect public health while balancing social and environmental responsibilities in a cost-effective way.

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Seattle Public Utilities