Some on edge in Orcutt neighborhood severely damaged by sinkhole flooding last month
ORCUTT, Calif. -- With Friday's rainstorm producing unrelenting amounts of precipitation throughout the day, it's causing some to worry about the potential for additional damage in an Orcutt neighborhood that was hit hard by a flood last month.
“'We're a little bit on edge," said homeowner Nancy Garcia. "Just seeing how much water we end up getting. It's definitely affecting my property. The house, the inside because the inside is exposed and it's definitely vulnerable.”
Garcia owns a home on Hibiscus Court, which suffered severe damage when a sinkhole formed in her backyard on the night of January 9, 2023.
When the sinkhole gave out, a torrent of water came rushing through Garcia's yard and down onto the street, essentially forming a raging river.
The sheer force of the water flooded Garcia's entire home, rendering it and a neighboring home uninhabitable. Several other homes in the area, including on the intersecting Parkland Drive were also damaged.
Now, after several weeks of relatively dry weather, Garcia isn't excited to see this week's significant rainstorm pass through the Central Coast.
“It's been pretty intense since yesterday and it looks like it's coming down pretty good," said Garcia. "Wind, definitely we've had a lot of wind and the rain, it's just coming down. It's not good news. Not only is the potential for further damage, but it doesn't allow us to move forward. It kind of puts on a standstill”
The big rainstorm comes just days after Santa Barbara County completed repairs on the nearby infrastructure that was damaged on January 9.
“We've put in this reinforced concrete spillway with the wingwalls and some rock slope protection back here so that it can take that excess storm water that may not be able to enter the system, and direct it directly into the basin where it can continue to the stormwater collection system down Bradley (Road)," said Chris Doolittle, project manager with Santa Barbara County Public Works. “If this did get overflowed with future storm events, the water would have an immediate place for it to enter the basin, instead of it pooling up in the roadway and the public use here and into private property.”
The county repaired and reopened Union Valley Parkway last Friday, which now features a two-foot high concrete wall that is intended to redirect any water that may flow out onto the roadway in the future.
“There was a big motivation to get the repairs made here to the damage that was experienced in this area, to put this back in service for the community," said Doolittle. "At the same time, it was to put in some betterments here as well.”
Even with the new improvements and upgrades, Garcia is still feeling anxious about this storm and those that might follow in the future.
“I know they have taken additional measures to prevent, so hopefully that's enough to keep flooding in my property," said Garcia. “It doesn't take away those feelings still being inside, you know, is it going to happen again? Is it going to flood, so the fear is there.”
