January 13, 2005

Campaign advises residents how to protect themselves from flooding

While the Santa Clara Valley Water District keeps an eye on local creeks to make sure they can handle approaching storms, the agency is asking residents to do the same to protect themselves and their homes from flooding.

Tips on what to do before, during and after storms are the focus of a multi-media flood-awareness campaign to help Santa Clara County residents protect themselves this winter.

“Flooding does, and can, happen in Santa Clara County,” said Joe Judge, chairman of the Water District board of directors.

It’s been seven years since major flooding crept into homes, closed major transportation networks and left millions of dollars of damage in its wake.

That flood, on San Francisquito Creek in February 1998, covered some 11,000 acres and damaged 1,100 homes in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

But a series of storms over the holidays—and storms this month—increases the chances of flooding in Santa Clara County. The campaign includes valuable messages, including the following:

Nobody knows when or where flooding will occur
• Flooding doesn’t just happen to those who live or work near a creek.
• Some areas in the county are more prone to flooding than others.
• The typical homeowner’s insurance policy doesn’t cover flooding.
• Flood insurance is available, but takes at least 30 days to go into effect.

Things residents and business owners can do before and during a storm to minimize exposure to flooding:
• Keep an eye on the District’s user-friendly ALERT system (through its Web site) to monitor creek flows, rain gauges and reservoir levels.
• Check the District’s online “FloodSAFE Guide” for tips on what to do before, during and after a storm.
• Use the District’s Web site to determine whether their home, school or business is in a flood plain.
• Learn through the Web site and newspaper advertisements the location of sandbag distribution sites as well as pick up information on how to use them.
• Help keep creeks and rivers clean, especially through the District’s Adopt-A-Creek program.

The program’s goal is to avoid the kind of losses experienced during the San Francisquito Creek flood in 1998 when about 500 people had to be evacuated from their homes. Flooding closed U.S. 101 and the Palo Alto Airport. Damage costs topped $28 million.

Although the flooding caught residents off guard, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Flooding swept through San Jose along Coyote Creek the year before and, in 1995, when the Guadalupe River spilled its banks twice, closed Highway 87 and damaged about 300 homes and businesses through the heart of San Jose.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages wholesale drinking water resources and provides stewardship for the county’s vast watersheds, including a series of reservoirs, more than 800 miles of streams and groundwater basins. The District also promotes flood protection for Santa Clara County’s 1.7 million residents.

For more information visit www.valleywater.org.