Did you know that any trash, oil, brake dust, or other particles in our streets or curbside gutters end up in the ocean?  Unlike our indoor sewer water that goes to a treatment plant, stormwater and urban water runoff goes down the storm drain and right into our creeks, rivers, bays, and ocean.  That’s why street sweeping is so important to our community to keep our waterways clean.  Using firm rotating brushes, the street sweeper dislodges, vacuums up and properly disposes about 70 tons of trash or other pollutants each week from our streets and gutters. 

But, of course, the streets need to be cleared of parked cars for the sweepers to do their job.  That’s why we have street sweeping days and cars parked on the street during those days can be ticketed.   

If you have a building permit and are working on a project, you can receive a temporary permit for excused parking during street sweeping by calling the Public Works front desk at 714-536-5431. 

Email and text reminders for the dates and times the street sweeper will be in your neighborhood are available for those who want them. Simply go to https://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/hbnotify/ and sign up. You can also click on this interactive city map and put your address in to find out when your street sweeping schedule is. 

So the next time you visit the beach and enjoy the ocean or take hike along the trails of our beautiful wetlands, you can thank our street sweepers!