National ‘Adopt-A-Drain’ Program Underway In Franklin

Township residents can now volunteer to help keep Franklin’s 7,473 storm drains clear and clean.

The Township recently joined the national Adopt-a-Drain program, through which residents sign up to “adopt” drains in their neighborhoods or elsewhere in their town.

The program asks for about 15 minutes, twice a month, during which time the volunteers take rakes and brooms to their adopted drains to clear them of trash, tree limbs and other debris.

The Adopt-A-Drain program is run out of Hamline University of St. Paul, Minn.

Tara Kenyon, the Township’s Open Space Consultant, said that the Township sent GIS information about Franklin’s storm drains to the university once approval to join it was given.

“All of our available storm drains are in there,” she said.

To “adopt” a drain, a resident just needs to go to the program’s web site and type in their address.

A map will be presented which will show the available drains near that address that can be “adopted.”

The web site also has tips on how to clean the drains, as well as safety suggestions.

Once a drain has been cleaned, the volunteer then returns to the web site to make a report.

Volunteers will receive recyclable lawn signs to announce that they are participating in the program, she said.

The data that is entered can be reviewed by Township staff, Kenyon said.

“There’s a lot of metrics that can be collected once it’s been populated,” she said.

Kenyon said the next step is to advertise the program and create fliers.

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