About Adopt a Drain
There are millions of roadside drains in Britain and not nearly enough tanker crews to visit them often. Most of what stops a drain working sits on top of the grating: leaves, grit, a crisp packet, a fallen branch. That part does not need a tanker. It needs somebody who walks past.
Three ways to help
Tier 1
Keep an eye on it
Look at it now and then and save what you see. You never touch it.
Tier 2
Keep it clear
Brush leaves and rubbish off the top, standing on the pavement. Anyone can do this.
Tier 3
Clear it out with a group
Digging out what is underneath. Only trained groups working with the council do this.
Where the line is
Everything on top of the grating is something a neighbour can do safely from the pavement. Everything below it — silt in the pot, a blocked connection, a cracked or missing cover — belongs to the council. We make that hand-over quick and keep a record of it.
Never lift a grating. Never step into the carriageway. On faster and busier roads we switch sweeping off entirely, because working there needs signing and traffic management.
No leagues, no scores
There are no leaderboards here. The unit that matters is the street, not the individual, and the point is a drain that works, not a badge.
This is on top of what the council does, never instead of it.