Greg Montoya was at work on Jan. 22, 2024 when he started receiving calls and text messages from neighbors. Torrential rains were pummeling the city, and his home on Beta Street in Southcrest was starting to flood.
Montoya rushed home to find his neighborhood was underwater. It was two and a half hours before the police and firefighters let him through. He returned to find his refrigerator toppled over. His jetskis had washed up against his fence. The entire home was covered in muck and debris.
"It was pretty devastating," Montoya said. "I was lost for words."
This week, Montoya received a letter from the city of San Diego’s Stormwater Department with updates on a $112 million project to build a new storm drain system along Beta Street. Crews are scheduled to start digging to test the soil and locate underground utilities on Jan. 26. Still, he's not fully convinced the city will see the project through.
"I won't believe it till I actually see it done and completed, because the city will come in and do something and then abandon it," Montoya said.
City officials said they are committed to completing the Beta Street improvements, which will be funded mostly with borrowed money. The city also recently secured a $1.1 million congressional earmark for the project — enough to cover less than 1% of the total cost.
Leslie Reynolds, executive director of the nonprofit Groundwork San Diego, said the city has been doing a much better job of maintaining the Beta Street channel and keeping it clear of debris and invasive plants. She said a plant called arundo has become ubiquitous in the Chollas Creek watershed, exacerbating the flood risk.
"It's a large bamboo-like growth that traps the water, expands the flooding, and is extremely unmanageable," Reynolds said. "It's a hard maintenance task, but it's one that the city is undertaking."
While the city continues its design work for the storm drain improvements, Reynolds said Groundwork San Diego is engaging with residents to identify upgrades to the trail system that runs parallel to the channel.
"What assets can be brought to this park while all of the undergrounding of a new drainage system is going on?" Reynolds said. "It really will ultimately be a multi-benefit project with climate-resilient recreational opportunities for the community."
Montoya has a pending lawsuit against the city over the damage he sustained from the floods. His attorney, Evan Walker, said a trial is scheduled for October. The City Council is scheduled to discuss his case, along with 55 other flood-related lawsuits, in closed session on Monday.
Even if the Beta Street improvements receive their full funding in future budget years, San Diego still suffers from a dizzying $3.7 billion funding gap for stormwater infrastructure over the next five years.
The Office of the Independent Budget Analyst warned in a report last year that improving efficiencies in the delivery and maintenance of infrastructure "will not be sufficient to close the city’s projected deficit and the capital funding gap." Until enough voters are willing to pay higher taxes or fees, the report warned, the city's infrastructure problems will only get worse.
"Without new revenue, San Diego will face continued infrastructure deterioration, which will further increase already high long-term capital renewal costs," the report said.
