As the autumnal season descends upon Fort Worth, bringing with it a cascade of leaves from the city's verdant canopies, residents face the perennial question of what to do with the accumulating foliage. In response, the City's Stormwater Program advocates a simple yard-care ethos: "Leave it on the Lawn." Bags of leaves and mounds of grass clippings, the program suggests, are better mulched and spread across the lawn than bagged and abandoned at the curb.
Such organic detritus, warns the City, has the potential to obstruct storm drains, leading to an increased risk of flooding in both streets and yards. The advice from the Stormwater Program, as reported by Fort Worth City News, is clear: residents should refrain from using leaf blowers to push this natural waste into the storm drain, an act that not only clogs the city's drainage system but also contaminates local creeks, rivers, and lakes. The mantra "Only Rain Down the Storm Drain" serves as a guide, reminding the community of the purity storm drains require.
To this end, the city has provided multiple channels for residents to report clogged storm drains. These include the MyFW app, the City Call Center, accessible via phone at 817-392-1234, email, and an online reporting form. By proactively mitigating the issue of blockage, Fort Worth aims to maintain the effectiveness of its stormwater infrastructure and protect its neighborhoods from preventable water damage.
