Trash Like Couches Found In El Paso Storm Drains Help Cause Flooding

El Paso is trashy. No, not our behavior, that's a different article. We are a trashy town and we know that because of the flooding that has been seen over the past couple of weeks. After the historic rains and flooding of Storm 2006, El Paso officials and El Paso Water put a stormwater fee in place to address certain areas of town that saw catastrophic flooding. Over the ensuing years, collection ponds and pumps have been put into place and an entire neighborhood was razed because of the level of damage caused in 2006.

There has been a lot of talk about how effective, or ineffective, the stormwater changes have been in light of the crazy summer rains we've been getting but one of the things that officials with El Paso Water want you to know is that it would help them a lot if residents would stop littering so dang much. These photos from El Paso Water's Facebook page show just how much crap gets thrown out incorrectly and how that trash can help cause the massive flooding we've been seeing.

1. Trash builds up and even though drains are regularly maintained we need to stop using ditches and drains as trash dumps. It's not all El Paso Water's fault and not all our fault, but we have to work together.

2. Seriously. Couches in the storm drains? If you're not going to dispose of things properly then don't complain when things flood.

3. Removing a mattress isn't something that crews should have to do. Throw your crap away in the proper place.

There is really no way to say this other than we all have to work together to keep our streets from flooding and causing property damage. If you can't do the right thing then El Paso Water can protect us from flooding. There are so many Citizen Collection Stations where you can get rid of your trash. Please use them and help do your part.