A mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds. High 62F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..
Partly cloudy and windy this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 51F. WNW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Updated: May 26, 2026 @ 7:56 am
High winds and tides, combined with a clogged storm drain, caused localized flooding in Foster City this past weekend.
Strong winds that hit the Bay Area over the weekend pushed Bay water over the levee in Foster City and caused localized flooding.
The scene alarmed some residents, who were worried it was a preview of what could become a new normal, though the city’s Public Works director described the flooding as an anomaly.
“It looked a lot worse than it was,” said Public Works Director Norm Dorais.
Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday, a combination of king tides and wind gusts up to 50 mph caused Bay water to splash over stretches of the levee, leading to flooding on the walkway and parts of Beach Park Boulevard.
The city deployed police officers to redirect traffic and a public works crew to handle the flooding, which was cleaned up within a couple of hours.
Dorais said such events and ensuing “small, localized” flooding have occurred before and were exacerbated this time by a clogged storm drain. Splashes of Bay water sent dirt from an informal walking path into the drain, Dorais explained, adding that the waves were bigger in that area because of a small point jutting out there.
“Had the storm drain not clogged, no one would’ve noticed,” he said. “It looks severe but from our standpoint it wasn’t a critical emergency.”
Dorais said events like this could become more frequent in the future due to sea level rise, but would still be an anomaly with the existing height of the levee. And within the next two years the levee will be raised by 5 to 7 feet in some areas, including along Beach Park Boulevard, as part of the city’s levee improvement project, further protecting the city, Dorais said.
In June of 2018, more than 80% of Foster City voters approved a $90 million general obligation bond for a new levee, needed because of federal flooding mandates. Regional officials from the Bay Conservation and Development Commission also required a higher levee because of the potential impacts of sea level rise. The levee is now 12 to 13 feet and the Federal Emergency Management Agency required raising it to 16 feet in certain areas. BCDC required an additional 2 feet. The project received its final permit earlier this year. Construction is estimated to begin in July or August and extending to about May of 2023.
Dorais said additional rocks will be placed along the water in the area to prevent future conditions that move dirt into local storm drains.
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Connie Weiss said:
CA Is Burning said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Yes Jorg - before Jesus Christ was born, there were never any wars,
ConcernedForSanMateo said:
Curious though why he is a write-in and not officially on the ballot.
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(2) comments
After living through basement flooding roofs leaking in Hillsborough 1993 I was always so glad our pumps in Foster city were glowing working to didiate the water . we don't live on hills, and have basement pumps for flooding...One year the street department covered Bing Crosby's home with Viscuine form the floods. Katherine returned with ducks unlimited decanters as a thank you to all the departments handling the floods and roof leaks..we know this happens hoping our pumps burn orange as they did as our city departments . we don't have to have pumps and viscuine is usually a plastic for leaks on the roofs..thank you Foster city you do an awesome job..that was the year I never saw my hsband as he came home turned around annd went back for calls. I used to tell him I heard you were married..
One thing that is a factor in all the water is when the tide is in the water has no place to go thus we get roofs leaking basements flooding...
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