Dog owners create expensive flooding situation

By Guest

By Nancy Fyler, Neponset River Watershed Association

During one of the heavy rain events this past March, a number of residential properties along Dedham Street in Canton (between Maplecroft and Cedarcrest roads) became flooded. And while it’s not unusual for flooding to occur due to intense rainstorms, this particular flood event, and the associated costs, could definitely have been avoided.

When the Canton DPW responded to the neighborhood, they discovered that the reason for the flooding was because of a clogged storm drain on the street. As they went to work to clear the drain, they quickly realized that it wasn’t a simple fix and needed special equipment.

Ultimately, it took four men and a special “vac” truck, working for three days to unclog the storm drain. The source of the problem? Someone had been throwing plastic bags full of dog waste into their neighborhood storm drain — many, many times. In fact, the DPW discovered that more than 3,600 feet of pipe was jam packed with plastic baggies full of dog waste. Not only was it disgusting, but according to Canton DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta, it was expensive, as the cost for the workers and machinery totaled about $8,400.

“For those who aren’t aware, storm drains are not trash cans. They lead straight to the nearest stream,” commented Trotta, who supervised the repair work. Trotta added, “Water from the road, along with any pollution washed off the street and anything that gets dumped into the storm drain, all gets discharged to Canton’s waterways without treatment, unless of course it clogs the pipes first.”

“In this case, the dog owners almost did the right thing,” said Ian Cooke, executive director of the Neponset River Watershed Association, a local nonprofit that helps Canton and other area towns reduce water pollution. “They did the right thing by picking up after their pet, but by tossing the bag of poop into the storm drain they not only put the pollution right back into our waterways, they also blocked the pipe to boot.”

The Canton DPW reminds all residents that they should never throw or dump anything down a storm drain and asks for your help in keeping pet waste, grass clippings, fertilizer and litter off streets, driveways and sidewalks to prevent them from washing into storm drains and polluting our water.

For more information about water quality in the Neponset River Watershed and details about NepRWA’s annual spring river cleanup event on April 28, visit www.neponset.org.

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