For much of the Bay Area Friday, it was about cleaning up the mess left by the last storm and getting ready for the next one.
In San Francisco, an important part of helping prep for the next storm is the Adopt-a-Drain program.
The idea is simple, someone can adopt a neighborhood drain and commit to keeping it clear.
The city's Adopt-a-Drain program asks residents to be part of the solution. But this civic duty comes with a great perk. Each adopted drain can be renamed.
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Dave Lang has lived in San Francisco for years and volunteers with the city’s Adopt-a-Drain program.
“People going to the park come to an intersection that is flooded, you can’t navigate it you want them coming the going to the street people are in a hurry to go places and it’s not safe so I said let’s just sort of do this,” he said.
The city said it's a serious program, but it comes with a wonderful twist.
“Basically what you do when you adopt a drain is keep your eyes and ears on it tell us if the drains need deep cleaning by reporting them to 311 help rake it clear of any leaves debris or trash,” Lang said.
Lang is one of the adopters. His drain's name?
"Whoosh, which is the sound," he said.
An online map shows just how much fun people are having with the re-name game.
“It’s just a fun aspect to this program that just makes you feel good about this and when you help spread the word you have ownership over this storm drain. it’s your storm drain. you named it,” said Joseph Sweiss with the San Francisco PUC.
Sweiss said there are 25,000 storm drains in the city and since the program started in 2016, about 5,000 have been adopted and renamed.
A fun way to get people interested in an important public service.
“It's just to provide a safe and healthy environment for all of us," Sweiss said.
