Leaf piles raked onto the road for curbside pickup became problematic today after mixing in with the heavy rainfall.
The Jasper Street Department began their curbside bulk leaf pickup on Monday.
Street Commissioner, Jeff Theising, says the heavy rain is a good reminder of why leaves should be raked to the curb, not into the road.
“Rake your leaves to the top of the curb. Doing this prevents the leaves from running down the street and clogging inlets when we get heavy rain,” Theising says.
But leaves in the road not only lead to street flooding. Theising says it is also causing some problems for their employees.
“We send guys out to clean our inlets, and they clean them. But after they leave, the leaf piles from up the street that were in the curb wash down the street and clog the inlet that was just cleaned out. So that’s really the reason why we prefer that you put them on the curb, and not in the curb,” he says.
Even if your leaf pile is a few feet away from the curb, Theising says that their vacuum machines can still reach it.
“If your leaf pile is three or four feet wide and a few feet behind the curb, or vacuum tubes are long enough to reach them,” he says.
Residents are also asked to not rake any twigs, rocks, trash, or other debris into the leaf pile because it could damage the street department’s vacuum machines.
There is no set date for when your leaves will be picked up. Collection workers make their way around the city on a daily basis.
If you have any questions, call the Jasper Street Department at (812)-482-1130.
