Friday’s powerful winter storm – a series of three striking San Diego over several days – caused flooding in one neighborhood in Lakeside and major stress for its residents.
Homeowners in the area of Lemon Crest Drive and Winter Gardens Boulevard surrounded their properties with sandbags. On Friday morning, county crews set up hoses to pump the water away from the homes and divert it elsewhere in case the street started to flood.
The neighborhood lacks proper drainage and this is a frustrating, scary issue for homeowners, including Ken Hughes.
“I feel helpless, and here’s why: the county’s known about this for 50+ years,” Hughes told NBC 7. “Water was coming into my yard and made it into my garage.”
Hughes moved into his home on Lemon Crest Drive last month. During a December storm, he experienced the flooding in his new neighborhood firsthand.
The county said there’s an $8 million flood control project in the works for that neighborhood, but residents said they need help now, not later, as major flooding happens in the area whenever it rains. The county said the project is currently in the design and environmental phase.
Local
NBC 7 is tracking this series of storms. To get the latest weather updates from NBC 7, click here.
