Recent storms have exposed critical flaws in San Diego's stormwater system, and city officials know it.
The big question is: Where do they get the money to fix it?
The city's proposed five-year infrastructure plan reveals an almost $8 billion funding gap needed to address deteriorating storm drains, streets, sidewalks, and emergency response stations, etc.
"Those that were built, the oldest neighborhoods, they really don't meet the standards of today, whereas our newest communities were designed and built with a higher standard, and are not as affected as much about this very question in front of us," Council President Joe LaCava told ABC 10News earlier this week. "The challenge is, how do we actually pay for stormwater maintenance?"
According to city engineers, the aging storm drain system has been historically underfunded, with stormwater improvements consistently falling behind other city priorities.
"When you compare it against potholes, when you compare it against building new parks, library expansions, recreation centers, it always kind of fell below the threshold, because frankly, most of us don't think about stormwater facilities until we get the big rains during the winter," said LaCava.
The cost of fixing broken infrastructure is higher than paying for preventive maintenance.
Severe storms over the past few years have brought the system's flaws and resulting floods to the forefront.
During public comment, residents emphasized the urgency of addressing the issue.
"We've got to prevent major emergencies," one resident said. "And of course, we're talking stormwater, aren't we?"
Stormwater improvement tops the city's non-enterprise funded infrastructure list, but the cost of infrastructure needs is outpacing available revenue.
With budget shortfalls already, the city faces the challenge of filling the $7.82 billion funding gap to prevent further deterioration of critical systems.
"We need more housing, but we also need more public safety infrastructure to meet the needs of our citizenry," said Councilmember Marni Von Wilpert.
The infrastructure plan will return to the City Council for further discussion on March 10.
