SAN DIEGO – In the continuing effort to maintain an aging storm drain system, the City of San Diego is launching its annual Stormwater Maintenance Prioritization Public Survey, seeking input from San Diegans about which stormwater facilities to prioritize for future maintenance.

The city’s storm drain system is composed of channels, pipes, levees, basins and other structures which carry rain runoff from San Diego neighborhoods to the Pacific Ocean.

Throughout the year, city staff clean and repair stormwater channels and address any urgent or emergency repairs to pipes, pump stations and other structures maintained by the Stormwater Department.

“Proactively keeping our channels and other structures clear of brush and debris is a significantly important step to reduce the flood risk in our neighborhoods,” said Sumer Hasenin, Interim Director of the City’s Stormwater Department. “We want to hear directly from San Diegans about which channels they would like us to prioritize for future maintenance.”

The Municipal Waterways Maintenance Plan was approved by the San Diego City Council in June 2020 and replaced the expired Master Storm Water System Maintenance Program. As described in the Municipal Waterways Maintenance Plan, the city identifies and prioritizes maintenance needs for stormwater facilities through an annual process involving inspections, public input and hydrologic and hydraulic analysis. Each process is highlighted as follows:

Step 1: Inspections typically start at the end of the rainy season, in April, when city staff visually inspect stormwater facilities to determine the probability and consequence of flooding.
Step 2: The City solicits public input annually through an online survey. Residents are encouraged to share their priorities for stormwater facility maintenance.
Step 3: Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses are conducted to examine key locations in the city where maintenance could reduce flood risk.

This year’s public survey results will help staff create the final maintenance prioritization list to determine the stormwater channels, basins and structures selected for maintenance efforts in the fiscal year 2025.

The public survey is now open and will close on May 12, 2023. To access the survey, please visit https://gis.tetratech.com/sw_maintenance/survey/.

Think Blue San Diego is the public education and outreach program for the City’s Stormwater Department. The department’s mission is to build and maintain efficient stormwater infrastructure for safe, sustainable and thriving San Diego communities. For more information about Think Blue San Diego, visit thinkblue.org.

(City of San Diego Release)