Interested in adopting something this winter that doesn’t require regular feeding? The city of Oakland is encouraging residents to adopt a drain to prevent the inevitable flooding that will occur during the rains. 

According to the city, above-average rainfall is expected this winter and spring, and now is the time to prepare. 

Residents are encouraged to clear their gutters and drain spouts, as well as clear sidewalk gutters of leaves and other debris, but remember to dispose of them in city-issued green bins, not back down the drains.

To “officially” adopt a drain, go to Oakland’s government website. The city will lend out tools necessary to clean the drains and volunteers will get rain updates on their cellphones as alerts. 

For those who can’t adopt their own drain, the city of Oakland assures residents that it has been sending crews out to make advance preparations as much as possible. Crews are cleaning storm drains, inlets, culverts and drainage structures, as well as laying down tarps and putting sandbags in areas that have seen previous mudslides or flooding.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.