San Diego

City Pays $2.47M In Stormwater-Related Damages Since 2018

Lawsuits continue over crumbling stormwater infrastructure.

The city of San Diego has paid $2.5 million since January 2018 to settle claims and lawsuits for damage from neglected and failing storm drains.

NBC 7 Investigates obtained the data through public records requests. The payouts range from $1,252 paid to a property owner in May of this year to a November 20, 2018, payout of $1.4 million to the Sanford Health Foundation for damages from a storm drain backup in 2016.

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In the last four years, the city has had other large settlements over storm drain damage. In December 2015, the city paid two San Carlos homeowners $1 million to cover damages from a backed-up storm drain.

Claims and lawsuits over storm drain-related issues will likely continue, however, as the city faces a massive infrastructure backlog.

According to a 2018 report from the San Diego City Auditor, the city faces a $458 million funding shortage to repair its crumbling stormwater infrastructure. 

Last month, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune, an apartment complex owner in Chollas Creek sued the city for $400,000 in damages from a 2018 flood caused by a clogged storm drain. 

NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the city of San Diego for comment on the payouts and what is currently getting done in terms of repairing the failing stormwater system. A spokesperson could not comment in time for publication.

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