I don't really have a dog in this fight. I live in the country and have no storm drain; however, I can see where it can be compared to people dumping trash in our drainage ditches. No, I don't mean it's ugly to look at (although trash in the drainage ditches is) I mean when a big azz rain comes none of the drains work properly and water backs up where it shouldn't. I know it takes a lot of grass to stop up a storm drain, but think of the cumulative effect if everyone did it.

So I will answer INCONSIDERATE Regis, and that is my final answer.

We just had about 2 inches of rain here at my house. I think more clippings washed out with all this rain than I blew into the drain on Wednesday when I cut my lawn. Granted, My yard is steeper than most and drains quickly down to the street, but much of the mulched clippings that I left on the lawn were washed out.

We are talking about drains that take in how much dirt, leaves, and grass clippings through natural processes can't handle a little extra every ten days or so?

I think it is inconsiderate to just leave the clippings out on the street. It may blow away after a few days, but until then all of your neighbors have to look at the mess you left. Its easy enough to just blow it back into the yard.

As for blowing or sweeping them to the drain, I dont know, and never thought about doing that because the closest drain is all about 150 yards down the street.

But, I can see how if everybody did it once a week it could really add up. And if you are somewhere that it doesn't rain frequently enough to clear it often, it could build up with all of the other junk that gets put in there like limbs, leaves, and other trash.

I could see it easily getting clogged and slowing down the drainage system enough to cause some flooding.

I don't do it, but I don't much care... unless the neighbor goes out of his/her way to blow them away from their house in front of MY house even in my yard. Have seen people do that.

As for the storm drain issue, I can't say that I've ever lived anywhere, heard of or seen a storm drain back up from grass clippings. I've no doubt it occurs, but I'm guessing all the concerns over clogged storm drains here is roughly equivalent to the swine flu hysteria. Much ado about nothing.

This world is full of unsavory people. See the everyday. They are either too stupid to notice, or too self absorbed to care about how their actions (or inactions) affect those around them. But I will say that grass clippings far pretty far down the list of things that really bother me.

Now.... the neighbors who won't keep their dogs quiet..... who practically block other people from getting out of their own driveways with their car..... those who race through the subdivision full of kids.... or those who apparently think the stop signs in the subdivision are merely suggestions..... well..... those people I have a problem with.


[This message has been edited by RogueAg (edited 5/16/2009 8:21p).]

For those of you that think it's no big deal -

Build yourself a tube out of plywood that has a 90 degree bend in it. Now dump a bag full of clippings at one end. Go get your water hose and see just how easy it is for relatively low flow water to push those clippings through the tube and past the bend. I'm not talking about using a sprayer - just the flow out of the water hose. Grass, especially when it has become saturated, is very difficult to move with water in velocities you are going to find in storm drains outside of major storm events.

This does a few things:

1. Provides areas ripe for things like mosquitos and other bugs to breed due to the pools of water in the drainage system.

2. Provies areas for bacteria and other non desirable things to grow.

3. As mentioned earlier, it robs the water of oxygen. Eventually that oxygen depleted water will reach a canal, bayou, river or other waterway and can kill fish and other aquatic wildlife.

One or two people doing this isn't a big deal. But compound the 30 or so people on this very thread who do it by several thousand and you have problems.

Remember - every time the system backs up, it cost your taxpayer money to fix it, so there's always that aspect to rationalize.

I see a lot of "well, it doesn't affect me personally, so I don't care" responses. That's sad.

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Build yourself a tube out of plywood that has a 90 degree bend in it

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So, I just bought a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I am a little confused with your directions.

How do I make the tube? Maybe I can cut a slit down the side and fold it, but that would make a funnel.

Was I supposed to buy some wood glue too?

[This message has been edited by GTech Ag (edited 5/16/2009 11:44p).]

Storm drains don't have 90 degree bends...

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Storm drains don't have 90 degree bends...

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Yes, they do. Sometimes they are in the form of manholes, sometimes it is when branch drains intersect with a main. You try to put 45 bends in wherever possible, but it's not always the case - especially in older system. But there are many, many, many changes in direction in a storm drain system.

I've put several miles of them in over the years.

Like it or not folks, it is illegal to blow grass clippings into the street or into a storm drain. It is a form of littering. It is a difficult law to enforce and your chances of getting caught are pretty slim. The guvmint goes to great lengths to make sure that construction sites are silt fenced and that storm water inlets are protected from silt and trash getting into them while construction projects are built. Any thing that goes in a storm inlet eventually winds up in a creek or other waterway.

The easiest way of handle grass clippings is to edge first then blow the clippings back up into your yard. Let the mower take care of them after that whether you bag or mulch.

whatever goes in the storm drains ends up in our creeks, lakes, and rivers. The cumulative effect of grass clippings provide an excess nutrient load to the waterways. This causes algae blooms, fish kills, and overall poor water quality.

As outdoorsmen, we should do all we can to help preserve our natural resources.

Additionally, it is a violation of the Texas Water Code and the Federal Clean Water Act.

My job is to enforce such laws...



[This message has been edited by gsp_hunt (edited 5/17/2009 6:49p).]

well i'm going to blow whatever grass clippings are on my drive way and sidewalk into the street until a peace officer tells me to do otherwise.

Way to go 03killerAG. Continue to be part of the problem instead of the solution.

Page two!!

What problem?

reminds me of the gar thread...

Gig'em and Semper Fi,

DHA

schmellba99 and gsp_hunt both gave good explanations.

Oddly enough, this is an issue I consult on quite a bit. I can tell you, there are a number of cities that are getting ready to ramp up enforcement on this issue.

If you are a fisherman, seeing someone doing this should piss you off plain and simple.

Sweep them up and bag them so that you can help take up even more space in our already stressed land fills!

Blow them all the way accross the street and into the neighbor's yard while they're at work....problem solved

First of all, storm drains are not "designed" to have 90-degree bends in them. I say "designed" because contractors who are not properly educated in storm sewer design usually end up "field engineering" the system as they go through construction. By rule, every storm drain is required to have appropriately spaced cleanouts or manholes as a solution to the problem you pose. These allow access to an otherwise closed system for the purposes of cleaning out the sewer.

It is fair to say that many of the storm sewer systems in our cities are not designed to convey anything more than water, however, with the amount of trash, silt and sediment in the systems already, grass clippings are the least of our worries. Chemicals such as fertilizers and motor oil in our storm drains are likely far more responsible for killing aquatic life in our public waters than are grass clippings.

Some of y'all sound like a bunch of California hippie environmentalists. Have we turned into a society so full of sensitive pansies that we complain about anything? Do you really want a government entity to regulate the mowing of our yards? Many of you on here today calling for the heads of those inconsiderate grass clipping Nazi neighbors of yours will be on here tomorrow arguing how big government is bad.

The unfortunate aspect of life is that some people just don't care about some topics as much as you do. That doesn't make them inconsiderate. If you want to change their ways, educate them. And if you're going to educate them, do it with truthful facts and not plywood models of storm sewers.

leads to



Sweep up your clippings, put them in a lawn waste bag, and enjoy a clean & peaceful neighborhood.

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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

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contractors who are not properly educated in storm sewer design usually end up "field engineering" the system as they go through construction

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Could be they have to "field engineer" because the "office engineer" didn't bother to understand the reality on (or in this case under) the ground. Also, you're agreeing that 90 degree bends do exist. Gotcha.

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By rule, every storm drain is required to have appropriately spaced cleanouts or manholes as a solution to the problem you pose.

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How about not blowing freaking debris down the drains so we don't have to clean them out as frequently & waste tax dollars doing so?

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Have we turned into a society so full of sensitive pansies that we complain about anything?

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Complaining about anything has become the American way... especially on the interweb.

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Do you really want a government entity to regulate the mowing of our yards?

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Most cities already do regulate mowing of yards in the form of city ordinances, but we're talking about clippings.

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The unfortunate aspect of life is that some people just don't care about some topics as much as you do. That doesn't make them inconsiderate.

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It might not make them inconsiderate... they might just be ignorant at best or plain frickin' stupid.

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If you want to change their ways, educate them.

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Please. Old man Zimmerhanzel & Chong Juang Fooey down the street won't listen to me & even if they did they wouldn't understand. It ain't my job to try. They will however, listen to a $100.00 fine.

/devil's advocate.

AggieBonz02, I understand your point, but this is also an issue of engineers and biologists not seeing eye to eye.

Engineers as a whole don't like change or being told their project has an unanticipated aspect they need to address. You are correct on hydrocarbons and fertilizers having an effect on aquatic habitats, but it's good you left an out with "likely". When looking at the the grass clippings, especially ones that have had the chance to sit there and decompose a bit, that is a significant amount of organic content hitting the system at a concentrated time interval. It's all interconnected, so you really can't just discount it.

As Apache pointed out, mowing you yard (if you live in the city), is already regulated.

Feel free to call me a California, hippy environmentalist

Apache +1, urususguy +1
Clean up your own mess. It is illegal, irresponsible and costs the taxpayers money to clean up. Blow your clippings back into your own yard. They will biodegrade and add nutrients to your soil. Don't make someone else have to clean up.

[This message has been edited by ghollow (edited 5/18/2009 10:22a).]

Why would you want to do anything but leave them on your lawn?

I guess I don't get it.

We're talking about the clippings from the edging.

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1. Provides areas ripe for things like mosquitos and other bugs to breed due to the pools of water in the drainage system.

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This says it all if you live anywhere near Houston.

It doesn't sound like a big deal until half the people out there think: "well, I'm probably the only one doing it, and a little won't hurt". The stuff adds up.

In the end, it causes maintenance problems, blockages, and pest problems that require more of our collective tax dollars must be spent to correct.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 5/18/2009 10:29a).]

I mow (mulch), edge, blow what I can back into the yard and let the wind take care of the rest.

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well i'm going to blow whatever grass clippings are on my drive way and sidewalk into the street until a peace officer tells me to do otherwise.

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Just provide me with your address...

I want to know what I'm supposed to do with my brand new $200 Echo blower now? I thought it was meant to blow things away!

Blow the clippings back in your yard like everyone is saying to do.

I'm riding with Hoss & ghollow on this.

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I've put several miles of them in over the years.

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Out of plywood?



"The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."

The mother ****ers that blow a mushroom cloud of leaves has to be 100x worse than the lazy asshat that blows a little grass out there.