San Mateo studies response to storms

“We are just coming out of emergency response mode,” Corbett said. “It’s been a difficult 18 days for everyone, but we are going to have the third-party report done, and we are going to go out and do community engagement.”

Corbett said the city on Dec. 31 expected 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches of rain based on National Weather Service forecasts and instead got 5 inches, an unprecedented amount. The rains started at 3 a.m., and city crews began work at 5 a.m. City dispatch received about 1,300 calls for service on New Year’s Eve, nearly three times the amount usually seen. The Wastewater Treatment Plan treats about 11 million gallons daily, which increases to about 20 million during a storm. Dec. 31 saw it push toward 60 million gallons. The city spent the day putting up barriers, traffic control, and closing streets.

“We know many areas flooded, and we are working to evaluate exactly why that happened,” Corbett said of the Dec. 31 storm.

Areas near San Mateo Creek also saw extensive flooding and it gets water from Crystal Springs Reservoir, rain and runoff. Corbett noted the city is monitoring San Mateo Creek and is working with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to monitor the reservoir water levels. SFPUC has jurisdiction over the reservoir. Corbett said the reservoir level had increased significantly over the last few weeks, and as of Jan. 17, there were about 2 feet of capacity in the reservoir before it spilled over. The city met with SFPUC representatives on Jan. 17, and SFPUC is not projecting any spillovers throughout the month. Corbett said the city is hopeful SFPUC will gradually release water into the creek when safe. Corbett said the city hopes to have a closer working relationship moving forward so the city can get information in a more timely manner during storms.

Corbett said in response to the community concern from the New Year’s Eve storm, city staff brought Marina Lagoon levels down to dock maintenance levels. City staff is working with people near the lagoon to ensure further rain doesn’t overwhelm the area. Hedges urged the city to remove silt and debris from the lagoon to help reduce flooding risks.

The council thanked city staff for their work and dedication, with Mayor Amourence Lee and Vice Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash asking for a closer look at improving infrastructure to deal with large storms and more community engagement. Both were interested in more community education and engagement and using an upcoming City Council goal strategy session to address the issue.

“Let’s keep being constructive in figuring out what we can do going forward,” Diaz Nash said.

San Mateo saw several more storms during January, and the city opened an emergency operations center in response. The city proclaimed a local emergency at its Jan. 3 council meeting and is still in emergency response mode. Corbett said city preparation for wet weather starts in October by clearing catch basins and trash racks, removing debris, preparing pump stations, drawing the lagoon down to winter operating level and opening sandbag stations. The city has 260 miles of sewers, and 130 miles of storm drains.

A city staff report said staff would seek emergency response reimbursements from state and federal sources if available. If not, staff could ask the city for budget funding to cover the cost of the emergency response.