HOUSTON – Creative names for a community program went down the drain thanks to a dirty hyperlink.
Houston’s Adopt-a-Drain program was started two weeks ago as a way to get the community involved in efforts to prevent future flooding and keep neighborhood storm drains free of litter.
Anyone in the community can volunteer to "adopt" a drain in town and keep it clean.
Houston Public Works representatives said the program was gaining momentum and many people chose to name the drain they adopted. Clever names for the drains included “Don’t Drain on my Parade," "Drains on a Plane" and "Happiness and Drainbows."
Allana Reed, with Houston Public Works, told KPRC that the city was forced strip the names from the website and change the rules after someone claimed 200 drains and entered a hyperlink instead of a name.
"It took you to a website that was inappropriate and not something we wanted to share with the community," Reed said.
Reed said they don’t know who posted the dirty link. She said the program isn’t suspended, but they have temporarily suspended the drain names from being visible on the website.
"It is still up and running and we want people to still volunteer," Reed said. “Be creative, but please, keep it clean."