What started out as a mystery backup of a storm drain in a South-Lakewood residential area turned out to surprise even Lakewood Township’s seasoned engineers and Department of Public Works (DPW) crews.
“Whenever it rains, the storm drain bubbles up and it takes a while for the rainwater to go down,” a resident informed the Township. Shortly thereafter, engineering and DPW crews got to work to determine the cause of this malfunction.
After opening the drain grate and getting down-and-dirty into the system, they found – literally – a full size outdoor trash can, along with other smaller debris, that was disposed into the drain and formed a formidable blockage.
The crews promptly removed the blockages and this drain now functions well again. But lead Township Engineer Tony Poklasny sees this incident as an important learning experience for Lakewood residents. “Stormwater drains are built to drain stormwater – and just that,” he stresses. “Disposing soda cans, bottles or anything else that doesn’t belong there – let alone something like a trash can – will harm the system and potentially cause substantial damage to public infrastructure and individual residents in the area.”
As always, an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure: Proper trash disposal will help keep Lakewood safe and clean.
