Once a month every inch of the gutters and curbside of Manteca’ 300 plus miles of streets get swept.

Unless, of course, there is a vehicle in the way.

The end result for a few days or so may be aesthetically pleasing but the real advantage of the effort is to reduce debris — leaves, dirt, and such — from making their way into storm drains.

Such debris — as small as it may be when spread out — is much like stands of hair that eventually restrict the flow of water into a shower drain. It backs up water.

It can also lead to underground issues that significantly reduce the carrying capacity of storm drain pipes.

The worst examples are sandy loam soil that often gets blown onto gutters and through drain grates in semi-developed areas within the city.

It is why you will see sand bags and other temporary barriers placed to make sure dirt along with runoff from watering lawns doesn’t end up into the storm drain system.

City of Manteca Public Works Director Carl Brown noted the street sweeping effort has another mission — reconnaissance.

The drivers of the city’s three street sweepers serve as eyes for the street maintenance division.

On their rounds they will note everything from potholes to low hanging tree branches that need attention.

Brown said the city is exploiting technology that involves a camera system attached to the sweepers.

It can keep pavement condition information up to date on a monthly basis as opposed to having to undergo overall assessments every three to five years.

Such a camera system records issues with street pavement, curbs and gutters and even sidewalks.

Steet sweeping was a general fund expense until 2008 when municipal jobs and service levels were on the line due to the Great Recession.

To assure city employees wouldn’t lose their jobs and that streets would get swept without reducing street maintenance, the city hierarchy secured a legal opinion that the task entrusted to the street division for years could be switched to the solid waste division.

Excluding equipment replacement, that decision is a $350,000 plus annual expense that is reflected in solid waste charges

That comes just under $10 a year per customer rom the annual garbage charges collected from 26,000 households and 12,000 commercial customers.

If the decision hadn’t been be made 15 years ago, the current level of street work being done in Manteca would be slashed by $350,000 on an annual basis.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com