SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – An already soaked San Diego County is being hit again Thursday with a third winter storm.
As the heavy rain makes it way across the region, fears and concerns of flooding along the San Diego River and clogged drains have led to the activation of water pump stations.
Daniel Willis works for the San Diego Storm Water Department. “These pump stations go unnoticed for most of the year until we get rain. Then, if it rains and they are not working we hear a lot about it,” he said.
In Old Town, there is a major pump station that pumps the water out to the river during a storm. According to Willis, water pumps, which are placed in flood zones, can push out 135,000 gallons per minute.
For 75 years, pumping 135,000 gallons per minute at all major flooding zones has been efficient until the system becomes clogged. “Bottles, cans, plastic, Styrofoam – all that kind of stuff gets into the storm drain and clogs it up,” said Willis.
While the city has a top collection site with ten pumps, which are controlled by a high voltage power line, water pumps are also placed in all of San Diego’s flood prone zones. “We put portable pumps in low-lying areas that are below sea level or areas susceptible to flooding,” said Willis.
The final storm system is expected to leave the region by Thursday night and dry weather with warmer temperatures will prevail from Friday afternoon through next week, forecasters said.
