During heavy rains, street drains help to keep City neighborhoods from flooding. When leaves collect in gutters and block these drains, water can back up and cause ponding that slows or stops vehicular traffic and can even flood yards and homes. While autumn is when leaves are most likely to collect in drains, it can happen at any time of the year.

Our drainage crews work diligently to maintain the City's drainage infrastructure, including storm drains on streets. But with thousands of drains spread across the city, we need your help, too. You can help prevent flooding by paying attention to what's happening with the drains on your block. A few minor maintenance actions on your property can also prevent stormwater from ponding.

Tips to Reduce Flooding

Keep leaves and debris out of drains

• Avoid piling yard waste like fallen leaves and sticks in your yard. Doing this could wash into city drains. Please keep debris in a yard waste bin or other container.

• Use a rake or broom to remove leaves and debris from the tops of storm drains and then place the material in your yard waste bin or other container.

• If an inlet or street drain appears to be blocked by debris, try to safely clear a channel to provide a path for the runoff. If the drain cannot be removed, or if the cause of the blockage or flooding is uncertain, call IBTS at 225-262-5000 or submit request through the app.​

Maintain your gutters and downspouts

• Clean the gutters and drainage downspouts attached to your roof twice a year. Just one wind or rainstorm can clog a well-flowing drainage system.

• Inspect for leaks or damage to rain gutters that could cause a flat roof to flood.

• Direct flows from downspouts away from your foundation without discharging flows to adjacent properties.

• Never discharge water over the edge of a steep hill.

Maintain your drainage systems

• Check your property's drainage system. This is especially important on commercial properties that have catch basins or other drainage systems. 

• The best way to find out what's in your pipes is to ask a professional to "video inspect" your underground drainage system.

Respect the City's drainage system

• Don't put grass clippings, leaves, or other debris into any of the drains, ditches, creeks, culverts, gutters, or ravines in the city.

• Do not store furniture or other items like firewood, fuel tanks, containers, and loose items in your yard, as floodwaters can wash these items into culverts and cause flooding.

Reduce runoff from your property that causes flooding

• Collect water in rain barrels and cisterns. 

• Create rain gardens. A rain garden acts like a native forest by collecting, absorbing, and filtering stormwater runoff from rooftops, driveways, patios, and other areas that don't allow water to soak in. 

Nearly all neighborhoods are susceptible to flooding during heavy thunderstorms. Keeping roadside ditches and culverts clear of debris can reduce flood damage.

What is a culvert?

A culvert is a pipe that conveys drainage water under roads or driveways. Where the ditch is not too deep, a concrete dip or shallow channel across the drive is easier to keep clean. 

​When is it essential to have a clean culvert?

Inspect and clean your culvert before expected heavy rainfalls or thunderstorms. 

How do you keep it clean?​

Make sure that nothing blocks either end of the culvert. Sometimes all it takes is a shovel to clear debris. The bottom of the ditch should be at the same level as the bottom of the culvert. If sediment has built up inside the culvert, call IBTS at 225-262-5000 for assistance. 

Plugged culverts can:

• Cause property damage

• Restrict vehicle access

• COST YOU MONEY 

Will the city clean your culvert?

If you have difficulty cleaning the culvert, contact the city, and a work order will be created to assess the problem and make corrections. 

Most of the blockages identified in the drainage system are from man-made obstructions (fencing, pathways, bridges, cables, furniture, appliances, tires, truck beds, etc.).

Please DO NOT place anything in the drainage ditches or canals that can impede water flow. 

Leaves, debris, and vegetation get snagged on the impediments and create blockages that back up the drainage system.