City of Hutchinson Stormwater

You can help protect local waterways this winter! When treating your sidewalks or driveways, use ice melt sparingly. A little goes a long way — and any extra will wash into storm drains when snow melts.

✔ Shovel early
✔ Break up ice before salting
✔ Use only as much as needed”

Flood Mitigation Work Has Started

Beginning Wednesday, October 8, City crews started work on the first project in our long-term plan to address FEMA flood mapping in Hutchinson.

This initial project will create a detention cell on City-owned land near 14th Avenue and Cochran Street. The area is designed to act like a small “overflow pocket” collecting water only when the nearby ditch reaches capacity, typically once or twice a year. Once water levels in the ditch lower, the detention cell will slowly drain back into it.

💧 What to know:
→ This work uses existing City staff and equipment, with no added project cost.
→The City is currently reviewing more than a dozen additional City-owned properties for similar low-impact projects.
→Each step like this helps reduce the impact of flooding and shrink the footprint of flood-mapped areas over time.
This marks the beginning of a long-term effort to make Hutchinson more resilient during heavy rain events!

Send a message to learn more

🌧️ Keep Our Stormwater Clean!

Help protect our rivers and environment by reducing litter and keeping waste out of stormwater systems. Every small action counts!

✅ Avoid Littering: Dispose of waste properly to prevent garbage from entering our storm drains.
✅ Choose Reusables: Opt for reusable items and minimal packaging to reduce waste.
✅ Join Clean-Ups: Get involved in local clean-up events and report litter-prone areas to authorities.
✅ Recycle & Sort Waste: Properly separate recyclables and dispose of trash in designated bins.
✅ Secure Trash Bins: Close lids tightly to keep animals and weather from spreading trash.

By making these simple changes, we can all help keep our waterways clean, conserve resources, and make our community a more beautiful place. 🌎

Together, we can reduce litter, protect the environment, and ensure a cleaner, greener future!

If you don’t want it in your water, keep it out of the storm drain.

It’s Water Source Protection Week! Let’s work together to protect our water resources.

Here’s 3 ways you can make a difference:

🌱 Don’t Mow to Edges: Leave a buffer of 10-25 feet from stream edges to protect roots and prevent erosion.

🌼 Fertilize Less: Cut back on fertilizers and regularly test your soil to keep nutrient levels in check.

🌳 Use Native Plants: Opt for local plants that thrive in our climate, reducing the need for extra care.

Together, we can ensure clean water for our community!

💧It is Source Water Protection Week! We will be sharing tips throughout the week on how to protect our water sources. We can start by being aware of where stormwater flows, everything goes!

We all play a part in creating a healthy ecosystem in our local waterways. Pollutants can harm all the helpful bacteria, plants, and fish that make our rivers and creeks viable and enjoyable. If you see something, say something so we can do our part and empower and inform our community.

The Drain Doodles for 2024 have started and we are excited to see the final product! The Drain Doodles program was created to educate the public that storm inlets drain untreated directly to our waterways. Keeping our inlets pollution and trash free is integral for our environment and reduces maintenance costs on infrastructure. We are beyond grateful for the artists who have, will, and currently participate in this program. Any guesses what the design of these inlets will involve when they’re finished?

Protect our city's stormwater infrastructure! Don't put these things down the storm drains! ❌

Our landscape can be a green filter, or a gray funnel.