Orange County Storm Water Management teams are asking residents to clean up yards of debris and animal waste ahead of storms to mitigate runoff pollution into the watershed.
“We typically see more contaminants with the first rainfalls, the duration between rains also impacts that, but bacteria, metals, and pesticides are things we typically see,” said Michael Mori, an Environmental Research Specialist with OC Storm Management.
Even an inch of rain can create flooding and heavy currents in waterways leading straight into the Newport Bay and ultimately the Pacific Ocean.
Prepping ahead of a storm can help reduce pollutants making their way into the watershed.
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“Things like not using fertilizers or pesticides 48 hours before rain... keeping your lids on your trashcans, picking up your pet waste,” Mori explained.
As of Tuesday afternoon, emergency response teams aren’t expecting major landslides, but they do have plans in place if conditions worsen.
“The big thing with rain when it comes down is that it's not only how much is coming down, but how fast it's coming down, too,” exclaimed Orange County Fire Authority Fire Captain Thanh Nguyen. “If it’s overwhelming, we can start to have a debris flow and we do have a plan in place with our county partners-- the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Orange County Public Works, so we're ready if we need to get to that level to actually activate something.
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For anyone concerned about flooding on their property, OCFA has sandbags available at select fire stations. You can find a list of stations on their website.
The City of Santa Ana also opened it’s free sandbag filling facility. Limit 10 sandbags available per Santa Ana residence or business.
The self-service sandbag station location and hours:
- City of Santa Ana Corporate Yard
- 215 S. Center St., Santa Ana
- 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. every day (including weekends)
To report downed trees, flooding and debris directly from your phone, download the mySantaAna app: https://www.santa-ana.org/mysantaana-app or call Public Works at (714) 647-3380.
