SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A community downstream from the El Capitan reservoir in Lakeside continues to feel the impact of the water the city continues to release.
ABC 10News first checked in with residents here back in August, shortly after Tropical Storm Hilary.
“This is our driveway basically,” said Doug Lawrence, standing on the dirt road that leads to his home and several others in this neighborhood. As of this week, it still looks more like a river.
Lawrence says this artery, which directly affects about seven or eight properties, has been undriveable for most of the year due to runoff being released from the reservoir.
"It looks very innocent... it doesn't look deep, but there are some pockets,” he said.
Lawrence says some areas are 2 to 3 feet deep right now, but it has been deeper at other times through the year. He says he’s helped rescue more than a dozen cars that have gotten stuck trying to pass over the last few months.
“I’ll back my truck down or my neighbor will back his truck down, get our tow strap, wade out into the water and pull them out,” he said.
Lawrence says he recently decided to take matters into his own hands: putting up red tape to deter anyone else from crossing.
According to the city, the reason for the continual flooding here is they’ve opened the reservoir’s valves ahead of the predicted El Niño season, so water levels don’t exceed the 700-foot mandated restriction level.
A city representative shared that a slower, controlled release of water helps “ensure communities downstream are not as inundated as they would be if we waited and were required to release larger amounts faster.”
Lawrence says a little more communication would go a long with residents here who are taking a detour daily.
The city has also said the El Capitan reservoir has three spillway improvement projects on the horizon, and they are expected to be completed by 2025.
