OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) – Many communities are preparing for the highly anticipated El Niño storm season and the potentially dangerous and damaging weather it can bring.
Oceanside City Manager said the City created a group made up of different city departments about a month and a half ago to start planning and preparing for the upcoming El Niño weather.
“With this year's Super El Niño being predicted, we're on heightened alert and even doing more than we would normally do,” Jonathan Borrego, Oceanside City Manager, said.
Borrego told ABC 10News various departments, including public works, police, and fire, and engineering departments are all working to prepare for El Niño and the flooding it can bring.
“We are focused on the San Luis Rey River this time around because we do know that there's quite a bit of brush and sediment in the riverbed that needs to be cleared in advance of the rainy season,” Borrego said. “And we're actually actively working on that now in clearing out brush. And with the help of the Army Corps, we expect to also be clearing out some additional sediment.”
The brain trust for the big storm preps is working on how to get sandbags to Oceanside residents and getting preventive work done to those flood-prone areas before the rain falls.
ABC 10News asked the City Manager if there’s a worry that the winter weather could impact big projects like repairing the Oceanside Pier and re-sanding local beaches.
“Anytime you have heavy rain, it does have the potential to delay a capital improvement project, and so that definitely is something that we need to be mindful of,” Borrego said. “For the first time ever, we're actually doing another dredge this fall. The dredge is actually now underway as we speak. And in reality, that additional sand on the beach, putting it in the fall will actually provide quite a bit of additional protection from potential stormwater surge.”
Borrego told ABC 10News work is set to start on temporary fixes on the pier to stabilize it until it can be completely restructured. As the City works to get itself ready, it reminds people in Oceanside to be ready to for El Niño.
“It’s always best to plan in advance, especially when it comes down to preparing your own property to be protected from floods as opposed to doing that during when the rain's actually happening,” Borrego said.
