SWAMPSCOTT — The Department of Public Works (DPW) is busy cleaning out catch basins around town to help stormwater flow freely.
According to the chair of the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee, Liz Smith, the DPW cleans leaves, debris, and other accumulated trash out of the catch basins. The most recent work done by the DPW was on Phillips and Humphrey Street, according to Smith.
Smith noted that the work to clean the basins helps prevent future flooding and keeps trash and other unwanted substances out of the town’s pipes and the ocean.
The crew could be seen on Phillips Street manually cleaning the unwanted debris out of the basins. Smith likened the manual equipment to the kind of huge crane that comes in arcade games — with the claw being lowered down to physically grasp the debris from the basins.
Smith added the work is done periodically by the town and the DPW, with the DPW regularly cleaning around half the drains and basins every year.
“The work is a part of the town’s ongoing efforts to keep trash and debris out of our stormwater systems,” Smith said.
“We have roughly 850 catch basins in town, and we’re mandated to clean almost every one of them each year, so we’re getting a jump on it due to the issues down at King’s Beach,” Interim Town Administrator and DPW Director Gino Cresta said. “We clean those out so we don’t have to worry about the sediment.”
