The City of Madison has crews from the Engineering, Forestry, and Streets Divisions responding to problems associated with the wind and rain that battered the City on Thursday night and Friday morning.

"We are mobilizing all necessary resources to ensure public safety and clean up damage from the storm," Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said.

The biggest concern has been downed trees and limbs. Forestry has all available crews working to keep streets clear. Forestry is responsible for clearing up damage to street trees and will respond to remove damaged limbs hanging from trees on the terrace.

"Broken branches are not always apparent," City Forester Marla Eddy said. "We are asking residents to check their street trees for damaged branches that may be hanging and did not fall to the ground."

Residents who need to report damage to street trees should call Forestry at 266-4816. This is to report street tree damage only. Forestry does not respond to damage to trees on private property.

There has been some street flooding in low-lying areas. Most of that water has receded at this time. Most of the streets that experienced flooding from this storm are located in drainage areas near the lakes.

"High lake levels are making our storm sewer system less efficient. It has gotten to the point where it is compromising the effectiveness of our system in some areas of the city" City Engineer Larry Nelson said.

Crews from City Engineering are working to open clogged storm sewer inlets. To report flooding issues residents should call 266-4430.

The Streets Division will have crews out collecting brush in areas that have experienced storm damage. This includes material from trees on private property. Brush should be placed on the terrace with the cut ends facing on one direction if possible. Large branches should be cut to less than 8" in length. Brush can also be brought to the drop off sites at 1501 W. Badger Rd. and 4602 Sycamore Av.

Residents who hire contractors to removed downed trees must get the contractors to remove all materials from their property. The Streets Division does not remove material cut by contractors.

To report storm damage for collection by the Streets Division residents should call 246-4532 (east) and 266-4681 (west).

"Our efforts will not impact regularly scheduled brush collection," recycling coordinator George Dreckmann said. "In addition to removing brush, the Streets Division will be sending out street sweepers to remove small debris from the streets in the areas affected by the storm."

Residents can also use the City of Madison's Report A Problem web site to request service or report problems related to the storm. Visit www.cityofmadison.com and go to the Report A Problem section.