HPD cracking down on drain litterers

Houma Police are strictly enforcing the parish ordinance prohibiting grass clippings from being dumped into street drains, according to Police Chief Todd Duplantis.

The action follows recent complaints by Terrebonne Parish Council members and parish government officials about objects blocking up street drains and contributing to flooding problems.

Houma Police officers were dispatched to a house on Acadian Drive in East Houma last week after Councilman Joey Cehan saw grass clippings around the street drain near the home, which is located in his district.

“I talked to the chief about it,” Cehan said. “Constituents had called, concerned about flooding issues. I looked at it and it was bad, blatant disregard. We spent millions cleaning out ditches and drains following (hurricanes) Gustav and Ike.”

“When we get complaints, we will issue the violators a summons,” Duplantis said. A first offense results in a $250 fine, the second provides for a $500 fine, and the third requires an appearance in city court by the violator.

Duplantis said an elderly woman at the house on Acadian Drive had hired a grass-cutting service to trim the lawn, but the service left before police arrived.

“No summonses were issued,” Duplantis said. “Officers told her to make sure the clippings were not in the street. If (the grass cutters) had been there, they would’ve been charged.”

“Whenever you’re cutting, you need to pick up the grass,” said Terrebonne Parish Community Problem Solver Linda Henderson. “I have seen lawn-care businesses blowing grass clippings into the drain.

“Grass getting caught in drains – councilmen are fighting that, any way at all to prevent flooding,” she continued. “It’s a simple thing. We want to make people aware. It will just help with the problem.”

Henderson reminded residents that Styrofoam and other plastics are not biodegradable.

“Issues with blocking drains and cleaning up litter go hand in hand,” she said.

Councilman Kevin Voisin, who represents West Houma in areas around La. Highway 311, has made several complaints at recent Terrebonne Parish Council meetings about objects clogging drains.

Voisin said he has become more aware of the problem of grass clippings cluttering drains since taking office early this year and has purchased a bag to collect the clippings when he trims his own lawn.

He said he has seen residents deposit grass clippings on top of drains waiting for rising water in the street to remove the grass.

“Cutting grass in summer – think about the entire neighborhood, it’s a lot of grass,” Voisin said. “If we’re not careful, we’ll drown from it. I didn’t know about it.

“I don’t blame people. We’re getting the word out. We’re talking about a lot of water because of grass,” he added. “A lot of citizens say, ‘What are the chances of that?’ As a councilman you see it happen quite often.”

Voisin said cut grass in drains will dry up and grow together, blocking out a catch basin as one physical unit. He described cut grass that matted on top of one catch basin in Mandalay Woods Subdivision. The clump blocked the water flow, creating a whirlpool effect in thigh-high water. “Grass can frustrate a well-thought-out system,” he said.

Terrebonne Parish’s ordinance does not specifically prohibit grass clippings from entering drains and ditches, but rather specifies “leaves and other debris, putrescible (decomposing) or nonputrescible.”