Resident Says County's Flood Fix Doesn't Work
Posted: 01/18/2010
Last Updated:
1248 days ago
With a heavy storm bearing down on San Diego County, a South Bay neighborhood fears flooding will destroy their homes again, 10News reported.Bonita resident Orlando Valenzuela showed 10News around his home Monday and pointed out cracked pavement and a raised roof -- just some of the damage he blamed on flooding."Once it gets to a certain height it comes onto the properties, and then we get inundated," said Valenzuela.He said he's seen it time and time again, and in 2006 he told 10News he was concerned over clogged drains pushing water onto his property. He pointed to his swimming pool as an example of the damage the unwanted water is causing."We could see the crack lines developing and we could see where the pool was actually shifting higher on one side," said Valenzuela.Valenzuela said the problem should have been fixed four years ago when complaints from neighbors prompted the county to invest in a multi-million dollar flood project. The money went to a new drainage system that was meant to handle the flow of water."How could you spend that much money and still have something that doesn't work?" wondered Valenzuela.About $10 million later, Valenzuela said the new drains installed still clog, water still makes its way to his home and the county still sends sandbags to ease the problem."I don't need sandbags -- as long as that works. So that's what we would like to see: the county takes care of it," said Valenzuela.County officials told 10News the county's flood control unit takes flood issues very seriously and does maintain its drains. They said someone will contact Valenzuela about his concerns immediately.