OCEANSIDE — The city has declared a local state of emergency in response to flooding and damages due to heavy rainfall over the past two weeks.
The City Council unanimously approved declaring a local emergency during a special meeting on March 22.
In doing so, the city could receive federal and state funding to help recover any costs from repairing city infrastructure damaged by this month’s storms, which have brought historic rainfall to the area.
“We have had an extraordinary amount of rain lately, and that rain did cause some significant damage to various areas of the city,” said City Manager Jonathan Borrego at the special meeting. “Tonight’s actions, if approved, would allow us to seek some additional, external funding at both the state and federal levels to help us recoup some of those costs.”
The excessive rain this year has already caused the La Salina Wastewater Treatment Plant to overflow; a hillside slip on Sky Haven Lane that damaged several homes in the Green Valley Mobile Home Park in Vista; sinkhole at the Oceanside Fire training center, along North River Road and state Route 78; a rock slide on Morro Heights Road; flooding of the Oceanside Golf Course from Pilgrim Creek, and various pothole repairs and debris removal on several city streets.
The La Salina wastewater overflow spilled 62,500 gallons, most of which was released into Loma Alta Creek and heightened permissible bacterial levels, forcing the city to close Buccaneer Beach. Although the bacterial levels have since returned to permit limits, the beach remains closed due to county stormwater advisories.
Oceanside’s “water year” measures how much water the city has received between October 1 and September 30. So far, in less than six months of this current water year, Oceanside has received 17.51 inches of rain, having already drastically surpassed the average annual 11.36 inches of rain the city usually receives.
“We’re at 175% of the normal average with still over six months to go,” said Fire Chief David Parsons.
Parsons noted that although most rain is received by this time in the water year, the region is still expecting more rain to come.
So far, the current year is already in third place among the city’s top five highest rainfall years within the last 23 years, just shy of second place currently held by the 17.98 inches of rain Oceanside received in 2019.
The year 2010 received 23.77 inches and remained the highest rainfall year in that same period.
“My understanding is there’s more to come,” Parsons said.
Parsons cautioned that the city must be proactive with its emergency declaration to receive reimbursement funding from the state or federal government.
The city is seeking a Governor’s Declaration or an Office of Emergency Services Director’s Concurrence to provide up to 75% reimbursement of eligible costs. Additionally, the city could receive 93.75% reimbursement if a FEMA Declaration is issued.
Parsons said a response from any of those agencies could take hours or weeks.
“I expect that to be weeks,” he said.
Oceanside’s emergency declaration will not request funding to fix the massive sinkhole that swallowed all three westbound lanes on state Route 78 at College Boulevard, which Caltrans is handling.
