Rainstorm soaks Santa Maria providing wet start to the workweek

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A much-needed rainstorm arrived early Monday morning caused a very wet start to the workweek.

According to early totals, Santa Maria has received more than an inch of rain.

It's the first significant rainfall the Central Coast has received in several months.

Despite the rainy conditions, law enforcement reported very few weather-related incidents during the slick morning commute hours.

There was a traffic collision Monday morning on Santa Maria Way, as well as downed power lines on Ray Road, just west of the city limits, between Santa Maria and Guadalupe.

Traffic personnel with Santa Maria Police Department and California Highway Patrol both expressed surprise and relief there were so few traffic issues reported during the day.

Black Road between Main Street and Stowell Road was closed shortly after 11:00 a.m. today due to flooding, but later reopened within a few hours.

The rainstorm did impact Santa Maria streets and roads, taking a major toll on surfaces all across the city.

"With the first heavy rain each season, we get a great number of potholes that pop-up," said Patrick Wiemiller, Santa Maria Public Works Operations Manager. "This is the season, and so, because we can't do other types of work right now in the rain, we're dedicating ourselves to try and keep the roads as smooth and flowing well as possible for traffic."

All day long, workers with the Public Works Department traveled around city streets filling in potholes with quick repairs.

"We're just trying do do what we can to make the roads as safe as possible," said Wiemiller. "We just ask for the public's cooperation in that by slowing down and being alert as you drive."

At the same time, runoff water spilled quickly into Santa Maria storm drain basins, including at the Crossroads Open Space and Minami Park, that both serve as popular soccer fields.

"The storm drain system in Santa Maria is doing a great job," said Santa Maria Utilities Director Shad Springer. It's designed to take that storm water off the streets, hold it, and then slowly release it, so it's doing its job. The design capacity is somewhere around 3 1/2 to four inches of rain we anticipate . In this case, we've gotten about an inch to an inch and a half, so there is plenty of capacity if we do see additional storms."

The stormwater has turned the sports fields into temporary lakes, a common occurrence during heavy rainfall.

The standing water will likely day a few days to slowly dissipate into the ground, making the fields unplayable for an unknown period of time.