You can adopt a dolphin through wildlife programs or a road through Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful.
Now, a new program from the City of St. Petersburg allows you to adopt a storm drain.
The city launched the program in April to get the community involved in taking care of stormwater systems during the rainy season.
Residents who participate in the Adopt-a-Drain program are asked to perform a monthly cleanup of their storm drain throughout their two-year commitment.
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Those cleanups include removing trash and debris from the drain and logging cleanups through the city’s portal.
Ivan Fountain, one of the city’s neighborhood specialists, said St. Pete needs the community’s help in maintaining these storm drains.
While street sweepers still canvas the city seven days a week, they can’t reach all of the tens of thousands of drains each day.
“There’s only so much they can do,” Fountain said. “We need assistance from our residents and we’re so appreciative of the work our residents do.”
Adopters will be provided with rakes, gloves, lawn bags, traffic cones and other materials to aid their cleanups. During each cleanup, residents will be tasked with clearing a 10-foot perimeter around the storm drain.
In the first three weeks since announcing the program, the city has had around 30 groups sign up to adopt at least one storm drain. Roughly 100 children from the city’s recreational programs have also signed up to help.
Fountain said his goal is to get every drain in the city adopted, but, most importantly, he wants the community to raise awareness.
"Not everybody needs to be an adopter of a drain but we want everybody aware that they can do their part,” he said.
That can include small acts, like picking up trash or sweeping leaves away from storm drains.
But there are other ways Fountain said residents can contribute to keeping the drains and waterways clean.
Water that flows through storm drains does not get treated before it is flushed into Tampa’s waterways.
Fountain said residents should wash their cars on their front lawn, rather than rinsing chemicals from soap into the gutters. He also said fertilized grass shouldn’t be overwatered so it doesn’t run off into the drains.
“We definitely appreciate all the help that our citizens can give us in that,” Fountain said. “This is a team effort."
You can sign up to adopt a storm drain here.
