People Are Still Being Swallowed by Storm Drains. One U.S. Agency Is Pushing for Safety Measures.

by Topher Sanders

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A new federal rule aims to keep people from being pulled into storm drains during heavy rains.

It comes after ProPublica’s 2021 reporting on how dangerous and uncovered storm drains were responsible for at least three dozen deaths across the country in a six-year span.

The rule, which went into effect in May and applies to new projects funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, builds on guidance the federal agency released in 2022 in direct response to ProPublica’s investigation. It requires that local officials overseeing projects in areas prone to flooding consider safety measures for drain openings, such as grates to cover them.

Deaths caused by storm drains continue to occur across the country. In early May, a 10-year-old boy in Christiana, Tennessee, was pulled into a drain while playing with other children in water after severe storms hit the community. The child died 10 days later after his family pulled him off life support.

Officials running HUD-funded projects must now, among other measures intended to minimize harm to the environment and people, consider whether they need “protective gates or angled safety grates for culverts and stormwater drains.” Project leaders have to then explain to federal officials which safety features will be adopted and which were considered but not used.

A spokesperson for the federal agency told ProPublica in an email that officials believe the new rule and language “will help encourage the use of safety measures for stormwater infrastructure to prevent injury or drownings during flood events.”

The rule comes after HUD officials read ProPublica’s investigation and spoke with officials from Denver’s Mile High Flood District who were featured in the coverage. The district has for years preached the importance of installing grates on some inlets to prevent people from getting sucked in when areas flood and stormwater rushes toward open drainage pipes, which are often out of sight below the waterline. It has also developed criteria that cities and towns can use to determine which openings might be dangerous enough to warrant a covering.

Holly Piza, research and development director with the Mile High Flood District, said she is happy that language about safety grates made it into the updated federal rule but said time will tell how much of an impact the change will have.

“My hope is that by HUD recognizing the importance of public safety in stormwater infrastructure in this way, we continue to see this issue highlighted at a national level,” she said.

HUD provides funding for public housing and financial assistance to homeowners across the country. In May, the department announced it awarded more than $3 billion for repairs and other work to public housing developments in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

ProPublica’s reporting found that a number of storm drain deaths have occurred in drains and culverts maintained by state-run departments of transportation. But neither the U.S. Department of Transportation nor the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the body that sets standards for state transportation offices, have made any changes to their rules or guidelines about evaluating whether drains should have safety grates.

A spokesperson with the association told ProPublica in an email that having a process for deciding whether to use a safety grate would be a best practice, but ultimately the decisions are up to the states and depend on the specific location.

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This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by by Topher Sanders.