In January, historic flooding across San Diego County damaged the homes and businesses of more than 1,000 residents. A few of North County’s coastal cities were impacted by the storms, and some are still working on repairing that damage.
It’s been more than two months since the storms, here’s where cities are in their recovery efforts.
Carlsbad
Though homes and businesses in Carlsbad were not as heavily impacted as other cities in the region, repairs to infrastructure damage will cost the city upwards of $5 million.
The Carlsbad City Council on Tuesday extended two storm-related temporary emergencies that city leaders had declared in early February.
The deal with temporary emergencies: Declaring a temporary emergency allows city officials to cut some bureaucratic tape to speed up repairs and unleash money to pay for it all. Temporary emergencies also open the door to state and federal grant dollars.
Here’s what’s on Carlsbad’s to-do list. The first emergency is to clear the Buena Vista Creek Concrete Channel near El Camino Real. The heavy rainfall caused a buildup of vegetation, debris and sediment, which could cause the channel to overflow during a future storm and potentially damage nearby properties and infrastructure, according to a city staff report.
The project was originally expected to cost $474,000, but that price has since gone up to more than $1.5 million, according to the staff report. It’s expected to be cleared by April 22.
The second emergency is to stabilize a slope between El Camino Real and Trieste Drive that started sliding after the storms. It was originally supposed to cost $955,000, and now the total estimate for the project is around $3 million. It’s expected to be completed in June.
At this point, the city is prepared to use its own dollars to pay for both projects, but city leaders are hoping to receive state or federal dollars to help cover the costs.
The city already completed repairs on a storm drainpipe along Carlsbad Village Drive near Pontiac Drive. That cost the city $140,000.
Encinitas
Encinitas’ neighborhood of Leucadia Roadside Park was one of the communities hit hard by the storms earlier this year.
I previously reported that Encinitas’ drainage issues date back almost 40 years to the city’s founding. Decades later, the city is still riddled with inadequate stormwater infrastructure. That was the major contributor to the flooding in Leucadia Roadside Park.
Stacy Reddell, executive director of the Leucadia 101 Mainstreet Association, told me in February time that at least 10 businesses were impacted by the flooding with repairs costing some businessowners tens of thousands of dollars. Reddell told me this week that three businesses are still closed for repairs.
After the flooding, the Encinitas City Council presented their plans to fix the area’s drainage issues permanently.
The first stages of those repairs are already underway, and the city has spent about $9 million on drainage improvements as part of the Leucadia Streetscape project, which is a massive renovation of Leucadia’s portion of Coast Hwy 101 that includes traffic circle roundabouts, new sidewalks, improved bike lanes and more.
But the biggest piece of the project has no funding. That’s the installation of a newer and larger storm drainpipe that is expected to drastically improve the area’s drainage system.
The remaining drainage work is estimated to cost about $20.9 million, which the city doesn’t currently have funding for.
On March 27, the city had its first budget workshop to gather public input as city officials start the annual budget process. One of the city’s top priorities is finishing the streetscape project and other drainage improvements, according to a city staff report.
The council will have a formal budget meeting on May 15, and is expected to vote on the final spending plan on June 12.
Oceanside
Oceanside was not heavily impacted by the January storms, but the city still has road repairs it wants to take on.
The city is working to repave Vista Way from College to El Camino Real.
State Route 78 was closed due to the flooding, forcing that traffic onto old city roadways that were damaged by the unusually heavy use.
Preventative measures: City leaders already had a couple of projects underway before this year’s storms that will help prevent future flooding, Terry Gorman Brown with the city told me.
That includes the installation of storm drain trash capture devices across the city to keep water flowing smoothly in a storm while capturing leaves or debris that can enter the storm drainpipes and back things up.
The city is also still working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the San Luis Rey River Flood Protection Project, which is a series of flood prevention efforts for the San Luis Rey River.
For most of the year, the river is like a creek, but heavy rainfall can cause it to quickly overflow and has the potential to damage nearby roads, bridges, homes and businesses.
In Other News
- Palomar Health officials announced last week that they’re closing the hospital’s 12-bed behavioral health unit on June 30. Officials said they are focusing on building a new 120-bed mental health hospital on their Escondido campus. (Union-Tribune)
- Vista Mayor John Franklin and San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones have both announced their campaigns for the District 5 County Board of Supervisors election in 2026. (Coast News)
- The dirt road at San Onofre State Beach has been fully repaired restoring complete access to the beach. The road collapsed after being battered by winter storms. Related: Did you know the state parks department leases San Onofre State Beach from the U.S. military? That lease is up in a couple of months and the rent is expected to go way up. That’s if a new deal is reached at all. Read that story here. (Voice of San Diego)