Burlingame looks at storm response

“This is just unbelievable, 22 inches of rainfall in about 10 days or so, of that 5 inches of rain was recorded on Dec. 31 alone, that is a lot of rain in such a short period of time,” Murtuza said.

City staff installed more than 100 temporary stop signs in response to power outages and flooded streets. Also, many potholes were patched until permanent repairs can take place when the weather improves. During the past two weeks, the city provided more than 200 tons of sand, equating to more than 16,000 sandbags, to businesses and residents.

“We have stockpiled more sand and secured additional bags from the county,” Murtuza said.

The Easton Creek levee has areas where water breached through on the industrial side of the city. City staff has made temporary repairs and are evaluating what permanent repairs need to be made. A few of the city’s water pumps were lost at the pump stations. A tidal gate was damaged and staff is already working to repair it. The sanitary sewer experienced significant infiltration from the rain water that resulted in overflowing in multiple locations, he said.

The wastewater treatment plant, which typically treats around 3 million gallons of wastewater on a normal day, received roughly 23 million gallons of wastewater on Dec. 31, Murtuza said.

Additionally, the Main Library, City Hall and the Police Station all experienced some form of water damage and staff is assessing repairs.

However, Murtuza said the Public Works Department did what it could to mitigate a colossal storm by taking preventative measures in the summer. Pumps were checked, pipes and trash traps were cleaned. Public Works had additional staffing overnight during the storms to check pump stations and facilities or to be available during emergencies if needed.

“Preparation was a big thing, we have been preparing in the summertime for storm season, and so all of that helped greatly,” Murtuza said.

The proactive effort continued through each storm. As one storm would subside, staff would clean up facilities and check the pump stations to prepare for the next one.

Parks and Recreation Director Margaret Glomstad said her department surprisingly only received around 30 emergency phone calls. Most of the calls were for tree and branch failures along El Camino Real or in the unincorporated areas around the city.

“We did have four full tree failures, three of which were large eucalyptus,” Glomstad said.

The city’s arborist inspected the eucalyptus groves along the railroad tracks, El Camino Real, Easton Drive, Burlingame Avenue and Skyline Boulevard. Three of the trees were removed because it was determined they would fail from the over-saturated soil conditions, Glomstad said.

“It is pretty interesting when it is windy out you can actually see trees moving and you can look at the base and if you can see the dirt starting to move and what direction the tree will fall,” Glomstad said.

Ultimately, Glomstad said in her 10 years with the city she has seen more trees fail in less severe storms, which she attributes to an aggressive tree pruning program the city has implemented the last two years and she said it made a big difference.

Additionally, the city experienced three landslides in Mills Canyon of varying degrees of severity. The lower trail is closed until weather dries up and crews can assess how to clean up and fix the damage.

Vice Mayor Donna Colson said the need for crews and staff to work overnight during the storms only reinforces the importance they should be able to afford living in the city in which they work. She mentioned pinning the topic for a future council meeting.