Waterfront Flooding Driven by Rain, Not Tides<\/p>\n
Along the Santa Barbara waterfront, flooding was visible in familiar low spots \u2014 but officials said the water behaved differently this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t entirely sure why the water took a different course,\u201d said Angela Rodriguez, public information officer for the city\u2019s waterfront operations. \u201cThis time we experienced some of the flooding near the harbor entrance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodriguez said the weekend\u2019s king tides coincided with the storm but were not the primary driver of flooding.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the flooding this weekend was due to the rain, not the king tides,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was two separate things happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Water pooled in the harbor\u2019s west parking lot and near the yacht club, areas that regularly see minor flooding during high tides. City crews closed off the first row of parking in those areas as a precaution.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther than cleanup, there was no damage,\u201d Rodriguez said on Wednesday. \u201cAs of this morning, we\u2019re pretty much back to normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inland Impacts<\/p>\n
Walter Rubalcava, with Santa Barbara County Flood Control, said crews spent much of the weekend assessing conditions before beginning cleanup and maintenance work once water levels receded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were removing debris \u2014 bushes, material caught in culverts and under bridges \u2014 to help the water get through,\u201d Rubalcava said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By Monday, crews shifted to evaluating whether debris basins needed to be desilted, particularly near the airport, which was forced to temporarily close due to flooding over the weekend<\/a>, and along the Goleta Valley. \u201cAs water slows down closer to the coast, sediment drops out,\u201d Rubalcava said. \u201cThose basins fill up with silt, so we remove it so the water has a place to go again.\u201d<\/p>\n He said no areas were considered immediately dangerous as of Wednesday, but officials are continuing to monitor historically vulnerable locations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ground is saturated,\u201d Rubalcava said. \u201cPeople know their areas as well as we do. If you feel you\u2019re in a risky situation, don\u2019t wait for an emergency message \u2014 take action to minimize your risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Lake Cachuma at Capacity<\/p>\n Farther northwest, Lake Cachuma has risen after weeks of steady rain, prompting proactive releases to balance reservoir levels and downstream impacts. During last weekend\u2019s storm, county reservoir data showed Cachuma\u2019s levels reached 101 percent capacity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rubalcava said county officials are working closely with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. \u201cThey do the releases, and we work with them to manage and balance outflows versus downstream impacts,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything\u2019s going well right now. It\u2019s going to be at full capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n Water released from Lake Cachuma flows into the Santa Ynez River and eventually toward the ocean, passing through the Santa Ynez Valley and Lompoc area along the way. Rubalcava said there was some minor flooding downstream but nothing significant.<\/p>\n
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