Keep Your Catch Basins Clear: City Pilot Program Will Include Gowanus Neighborhood

The next time a heavy rainstorm comes to Gowanus and Sunset Park, at least some of the catch basins (the sewer drains on street corners, where it meets the curb) will be clear.

That’s thanks to an Adopt-A-CatchBasin pilot program that will include part of Fourth Avenue, near 43rd Street — “adopted” by Community Board 7 — and the area around the Gowanus, adopted by the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (GCCDC).

“We hope that the example of all participants will encourage others to volunteer to support efforts to improve our communities, our borough, and our city,” said CB7 District Manager Jeremy Laufer.

GCCDC Executive Director Mike Racioppo agreed, stating that he thinks “it’s great that Borough President Adams is getting the community involved so directly in environmental initiatives,” especially in honor of Earth Day, which was last Friday, April 22.

These two organizations will only be overseeing a few catch basins, though, so it’s a good idea in general to clear our local sewer catch basin of debris every now and then — just like we do to our own drains in our driveways and backyards ahead of, during, and after rainstorms.

Catch basins are regularly clogged with leaves, bottles, plastic, and other trash debris that prevent water from flowing through, resulting in the water flooding our homes and businesses instead. To clean them, organizations like CB 7 and GCCDC will send volunteers to training sessions with the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in how to clear the basins regularly and safely. These groups will also be enrolled in “an early alert system to inform them of upcoming weather events that may cause flooding.”

The pilot program is a project of the (DEP) and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. Other Brooklyn neighborhoods participating are in Canarsie and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.

If your block association or group is interested in the Adopt-A-Catch Basin program should contact BP Adams’ office at askeric@brooklynbp.nyc.org.