Buffalo Setting Up Emergency Bulk Trash Pickup For Flooded Neighborhoods

After two days of major rainfall had a horrible impact on the infrastructure in different parts of the City of Buffalo, the local government is stepping up to help residents of the city manage cleanup after nearly 4 inches of rain that fell in just a few hours caused flooded streets and sewage backups across New York State's second-largest city.

According to the National Weather Service, the major rain event that hit Buffalo during the early evening hours on Thursday, September 3, 2026, left 3.04 inches of rain at the Buffalo Airport and 3.35 inches of rain in the city proper. Snyder, New York, clocked 3.46 inches of rain, while rain gauges in the village of Kenmore measured 3.35 inches.

That massive amount of rain, coupled with the large rainfall that happened on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, left the wastewater treatment facilities of the region overloaded. When that happens, sewage will overflow into the Buffalo River and Niagara River, along with backflowing into people's basements.

READ MORE: Wild Thunderstorms Knock Out Power To Thousands In Western New York

As thousands of Western New Yorkers were just getting the power back on and cleaning up fallen trees, the additional rain and sewer backups even caused some manhole covers to blow off thier bases in the city. There are countless videos on social media showing the impact of the rain, with streets like Hertel Avenue and Parkside Avenue flooded over with stranded cars and deep water everywhere.

With the fact that sewage has backed up into thousands of basements across the city, officials are doing an emergency bulk trash pickup on Monday, September 7th, across various neighborhoods in Buffalo.

Emergency Bulk Trash Pickup For Flooded Neighborhoods

Starting at 7 am on Monday, September 7th, residents in the city's flood-damaged areas will be able to put out bulk trash for pickup.

Residents whose homes were flooded are facing an incredibly difficult cleanup, and I appreciate the Ryan administration’s swift response to help. This emergency curbside pickup will give affected residents the weekend to remove damaged items from their homes and have them collected on Monday.
-Joel Feroleto, Delaware District Common Council Member and Buffalo Common Council President

Crews are driving around town today to check the areas most heavily impacted, but if you have flood damage, you're encouraged to report it to the city by calling 311, using Buffalo's 311 App, or going to the Buffalo 311 Website.

It's also recommended that you fill out a flood damage report with New York State. The state's Individual Assistance Damage Tool helps officials know what kind of emergency assistance may be available from the Federal government.