The City of Lakeland Lakes & Stormwater Division of Public Works is pleased to introduce the Street Sweeper Wrap Education Program (SSWEP). The goal of this program is to continue to demonstrate the direct link between everyone’s daily lives and the health of our lakes. Street sweepers are an important tool to keep debris and trash from entering our lakes; however, they cannot do it alone. Prevention is the best solution. Whether citizens see our lakes or not, everyone is responsible for what goes into our lakes. This program focuses on water quality education, community involvement, and awareness of stormwater pollution prevention issues. The community’s involvement is very important.

The objectives of this program are to inform residents of the direct impact street sweepers have on improving water quality, actions they can take, and the stormwater hotline phone number to report suspected violations. Through this program, the City hopes that the residence will do their part to keep yard debris, trash and hazardous waste out of Lakeland’s streets.

The City of Lakeland operates six state-of-the art street sweepers. On average, these street sweepers clean over 13,000 miles of curbed streets and collect approximately 2,265 tons of materials every year that would otherwise end up in the lakes. This amount is equal to the weight of 12 blue whales, the world’s largest animal. Street sweepers are designed to remove trash and debris from City streets and help prevent pollution from entering our lakes which supports the notion that “Every Curb Is a Shoreline”. Once rainwater makes contact with the ground, it becomes stormwater runoff that can carry pollutants from the streets to our lakes through the City’s drainage system. Every street sweeper is committed to “Protecting Our Lakes One Mile At A Time.”

“What are my stormwater dollars paying for?” The stormwater utility fee funds this program and many water quality projects for capital improvement, public education outreach, and regulatory duties. Every project that is funded through the stormwater utility fee is related to water quality improvements in the City of Lakeland. For more information on the stormwater utility fees, current projects, and future water quality projects visit our other web pages or call the Stormwater Hotline at 863-834-3300. We, as a community, must work together to achieve an exceptional quality of life.