by Alexandra Mendoza
The City Council’s Environment Committee is asking the City of San Diego to declare a state of emergency and perform preventative maintenance activities in flood-risk areas in preparation for the storms forecasted due to El Niño.
The declaration would make resources available to clean up channels currently blocked by trash, debris, or vegetation that could lead to flood damages.
City Councilman David Alvarez stated that they have identified 25 channels with an elevated flood risk in areas such as San Ysidro, Kearny Mesa, Mission Valley, City Heights, Rancho Bernardo, Paradise Hills, and Little Italy, among others.
“We are asking for work to be done at least in the top ten worst channels to prevent flooding”, said the Councilman, who stressed that the work needs to start as soon as possible.
Councilman Alvarez also reported that for years these channels have not been cleaned because the City had not focused on this issue.
“We have been lucky that for several years we have not seen the kinds of rains expected for this year. Government budgets had not allocated funding for this, but it’s there this year, so this is our chance to do what needs to be done to improve the situation”.
The Councilman asked the community to take this week’s rain as a reminder of what we can expect, and to take precautions at home, particularly if you live in a flood risk area.
The Scripps Institute of Oceanography indicates that there is a 95% probability of strong winter storms, which may last even through the spring.
Ed Witt, owner of the Witt Lincoln dealership in Mission Valley remembers the huge damages caused by el El Niño storms in 1997-98 in the area where his business is located.
“It is imperative for the government to get involved; we only have a few days or weeks left. We saw what happened this week in San Diego, and that’s just a preview of that is to come”, the business owner expressed.
The City Council Environment Committee has also asked Governor Jerry Brown to declare a statewide emergency, as this would expedite the city’s prevention and maintenance activities.
Although City authorities argue that work has been done in recent months to clean up drains and channels, some Councilmembers feel that more action is needed.
Councilman Alvarez also shared that residents can go to BeReadySanDiego.org to learn more on the topic, as well as to see a map showing the highest-risk areas.