Reported by Times of San Diego
Marcela Arellano and her Southcrest family are never happy to hear rain is on the way.
Since moving into their house in 1999 — raising a son, repairing the house as much as they could and making it their own — they’ve learned to monitor the stormwater channel that runs behind several properties near Market and 29th streets.
That became more than a concern in 2021. Then, trash and debris had accumulated in a nearby stormwater channel behind an apartment complex. The water stopped flowing along its normal path, she told our Alejandro Maciel in a new story .
Water broke through a wall and flowed into their property. They lost their car, several appliances, furniture and their carpet. Months later they found moisture trapped in the walls had grown into mold.
Now, with warnings of a major El Niño season looming, they’re looking for help from the city before it comes again. They shared their story at a recent planning group meeting in which the city shared its upcoming flood control projects. Some of her neighbors shared similar stories.
