I get what you mean about not messing with the drains too much. I tried to clear one last fall and ended up just making a muddy mess in the street. Honestly, I think you’re right—if it’s more than leaves or trash, it’s probably best to let the city handle it. Filing multiple reports does seem to help, though. My neighbor and I both called about a blocked drain and they actually showed up within a couple days, which was faster than usual. Still, wish there was a better system for this stuff...
if it’s more than leaves or trash, it’s probably best to let the city handle it
That’s usually the safest call, honestly. If you ever do have to deal with a flooded street before the city gets there, do you have a go-to way to keep water out of your yard or basement? Sandbags, makeshift barriers, anything like that? Sometimes just redirecting the flow with a shovel can help, but it really depends on how bad it is.
I’ve had to throw down sandbags a couple times when the city was slow to respond. Honestly, it’s a pain but it beats cleaning up a flooded basement. Tried the shovel trick once—worked okay, but only for smaller puddles. When it’s really coming down, nothing beats a good barrier.
Had a similar situation last spring—our street turned into a river when the storm drains backed up. I rigged up a makeshift dam with leftover pavers and plastic sheeting. Not pretty, but it held off the worst of it. Honestly, sandbags are heavy, but they’re reliable. Tried kitty litter once for a quick fix... didn’t really do much except make a mess later.
I hear you on the kitty litter—tried that once, too, and it just clumped up and smelled weird after. Have you looked into using water-filled flood barriers? They’re reusable and less wasteful than sandbags, but I’m not sure how well they’d work on uneven pavement.