By Staff Writer

Walking through the streets of Vancouver, you may pass by Grates of Wrath, Stormy Drainiels, or Grate Expectations. By the end of October this year, 1,765 catch basins have been adopted across the city.

The Adopt a Catch Basin program, launched by the city, allows citizens to adopt and name their own drainage basin in an effort to ameliorate flooding on city streets. Drainage is especially an issue in the fall when fallen leaves clog the catch basins and the weather turns progressively stormier.

“If your catch basin is blocked, use a rake, broom, or shovel to push leaves and debris away from the curb and catch basin grate,” reads the program website. “This will allow water to drain into the catch basin and prevent flooding.”

Vancouver has around 45,000 drainage basins, so there are plenty more to go around. Adopt a Catch Basin also provides a city map so citizens can select which specific catch basins they would like to adopt. High priority drainage basins are highlighted on the map, and after signing up for the program, participants are sent a welcome package to help them get started.

The program launched in October of 2017 after similar programs in San Francisco and Oakland, although the number of participants in Vancouver has now surpassed those other two cities.