3,000 Catch Basins to Be Unclogged

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works plans to unclog about 3,000 storm runoff catch basins in the Sherman Oaks area and in various west Los Angeles County locations.

The annual cleanup is designed to improve the efficiency of the flood control drainage system and remove potential nesting places for rodents as well as minimize odors and the threat of dangerous gases forming from rotting organic material.

Besides filtering out the usual tree branches and rotting animal carcasses, the basins catch everything from soiled disposable diapers to runaway skateboards, said veteran drain cleaner Bob Gilmore.

“You name it, we’ve pulled it out of there,” said Gilmore, who has worked for the county for 35 years. “People just use these things like their trash cans.”

Some items, such as car keys, find their way into the drains accidentally, sometimes resulting in panicked late-night phone calls to county employees.

“We get calls on those all the time,” Gilmore said, adding that workers fetch car keys at no charge. “It’s all part of your tax dollars at work.”

“Any debris around here ends up in the L. A. River and then in the ocean,” said William Jonas, an area maintenance engineer for the department. “So it’s pretty important that it gets caught.”