City of Vancouver asks residents to adopt a catch basin

VANCOUVER – After an intense atmospheric river caused flooding across the Lower Mainland recently, the City of Vancouver is urging residents to adopt a catch basin to help mitigate future flooding incidents.

The city currently has a team of over 2,400 adopters helping to keep more than 6,800 catch basins clear throughout the year as part of the Adopt a Catch Basin program, a release said.

“Our dedicated team of catch basin adopters play an important role in preventing flooding and keeping our streets safe for everyone – whether they walk, bike, roll or drive. A huge thank you to all our volunteers for stepping up to keep stormwater flowing in our rainy city.  I encourage everyone who can to join in and adopt a catch basin (or two) in their neighbourhood,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement.

Adopting a catch basin will let stormwater drain properly and reduce the risk of flooding and protect the environment by preventing litter and pollutants from entering waterways, the release said.

There are 45,000 catch basins across the city with more than 38,000 still available for adoption.

To adopt a catch basin, the release said, go to adoptacatchbasin.ca and using the map choose and name a basin.

“Needy” basins are marked on the map with a heart symbol and are prone to flooding.