Ironton leaders are asking residents to help keep the streets clean so workers can clean the streets.

With the reds, yellows and oranges of fall leaves dropping earthward more and more each day, city officials are urging residents to get out the rakes and trash bags to bag leaves before they hit the streets.

&#8220In essence, we are asking citizens to help us. The street sweeper is not able to pickup a lot of leaves,” Mayor John Elam said. &#8220We need people to bag their leaves because we want to continue to operate the street sweeper and make Ironton look as good as we can.”

In addition to helping keep the city looking good, bagging leaves will also help keep the city out of hot water with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. One part of the mandated stormwater control standards includes keeping drains free of unnecessary debris such as leaves, Elam said.

Residents can bag their leaves and place them at the same location where sanitation employees pickup the trash, said Mike Pemberton, the city's street superintendent.

Though Pemberton encouraged residents not to rake leaves into the streets as has sometimes been the past practice, he said residents will not be expected to clean every leaf from the curbs.

&#8220After the first good frost, the leaves will really start coming down pretty good,” he said. &#8220Then we will push to the center of block so they don't obstruct parking and pick them up. The street sweeper is just not designed to pick up leaves like that.”

All leaves collected go the city's compost pile behind Moulton Field along Lawrence Street.

The upcoming creation and implementation of the EPA-mandated

stormwater

management plan will likely change the way leaves and street sweeping is handled in the future, Pemberton said.

For now, though, the solution lies with old fashioned raking.