Maintenance

Street Cleaning

The City of Roanoke has approximately 1,287 lane miles of streets. The purpose of street cleaning is to maintain public rights-of-way to create a positive image and promote safety and environmental quality throughout the city. This section of the Stormwater Division also collects animal carcasses reducing bacterial contamination and health concerns. 

Annual Tons of Sediment Removed from Streets by Streetsweepers:

2020202120222023
1737 tons
1529 tons
1871 tons1434 tons
Street Sweeper

Sweeping Schedule

The overall schedule for sweeping the city streets is as follows:

  • Clean each residential street monthly
  • Clean arterial streets monthly
  • Clean the Central Business District (downtown) streets nightly

Factors such as weather, changing seasonal conditions and equipment performance affect how closely this schedule can be followed. Residential Street Sweeping Map Schedule (opens map application in new window)

Stormdrain Cleaning

This program uses vactor trucks  to remove sediment and debris from the 11,513 existing stormdrain inlets and 422 linear miles of existing stormdrain pipe. This aids in reducing the floatables, like plastic drink bottles, sedimentation and other pollutant sources before they reach the 1,151 stormdrain outfalls that flow directly into the Roanoke River and its tributaries. 

Annual Tons of Debris Removed from Stormdrains:

2020202120222023
235 tons
278 tons
290 tons215 tons
Roanoke Vactor Truck

Inspecting the Stormdrain System

Internal inspections of the stormdrain pipe system use a CCTV camera to map the location of the pipes a well as identify potential problems underground. 

Annual Miles of Stormdrain Pipe Inspected:

2020202120222023
21 miles
18 miles
8 miles5 miles
CCTV Van

Mapping the Stormdrain System

Beginning in March 2015, the City’s stormwater crews are updating the stormdrain system map for each watershed using iPad data entry into the ArcGIS Collector App. GPS technology readily identifies stormdrain features including down/up pipe orientation, termination points and outfalls. 

  • Completed Watersheds: Tinker Creek, Glade Creek, Carvin Creek, Trout Run, and Peters Creek. 
  • In progress: Ore Branch
  • Upcoming: Roanoke River, Mud Lick Creek, Murray Run, Barnhardt Creek, and Murdock Creek.
Worker Mapping Drains