This includes repairing grates, clearing blocked drain pipes and cleaning debris from storm drain structures. The drains are designed to handle normal water flow, but occasionally during heavy rain, flooding will occur. Unfortunately, some people also dump trash, old furniture, tires or other debris into the storm drain system. This causes extra problems for the Street Division and the rest of the public because it increases the likelihood of flooding. Our goal is to limit the number of flooding incidents by keeping the drains clear with regular maintenance and cleaning.
Every structure is cleaned annually, with problem areas checked more frequently.
The drain pipes are also cleaned annually, with special attention given after rainy periods. Street Division has just added four new drain cleaning trucks in an effort to reduce flooding. Storm Drain Channel The City of San Diego maintains 84 miles of concrete and dirt drainage channels and ditches. There are also numerous miles of privately maintained drainage channels in the city. The channels are checked annually by Street Division crews, but we also rely on the public to notify us when a channel or ditch is blocked or filled with debris.