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Resident tells San Bernardino committee Myers Creek drainage is overwhelmed, urges completion of study
Summary
A resident told the Development and Environmental Review Committee that Myers Creek’s drainage capacity has fallen and asked staff to complete and act on a stalled drainage study to prevent flooding of homes and streets.
Hank Mitchell, a San Bernardino resident, told the Development and Environmental Review Committee on June 11 that Myers Creek’s drainage system is no longer handling storm runoff and urged staff to complete a delayed study and improve the channel.
Mitchell, who identified his address as 3766 Belmont Avenue, said Myers Creek drains “9 canyons and or riparian streams on the Martin Ranch and the Magnolia Alluvial Plain” and that development on the alluvial plain has reduced the creek’s capacity. “In the past, when the soils were absorbing, we could handle up to a 4 inch monsoon ray before the Myers Creek would flood at Belmont Street,” he said. “Today with all the build out, we are lucky to not top off at an inch and a half mild rain.”
Mitchell said a drainage study funded with “a million 5” (as he described it) led to work that had been expected to include a presentation in May and an RFP in November, but the process appears to have stalled. He told the committee that recent construction projects redirected runoff onto streets and into neighborhoods rather than into the creek and that Myers Creek “hasn't been cleaned by public works in 15 years.”
Mitchell described specific local constraints he said increase flood risk at Belmont Avenue: a 6-foot drainage tube that drains roughly 75 acres; a 10-by-7 culvert draining two large canyons plus the Martin Ranch area; and two 32-inch tubes at Belmont that he said are overloaded by upstream development. He said several properties in the area are owned by “asset owners” and that those properties will flood unless the drainage system is improved.
Mitchell offered to meet staff on site and show them locations he identified as vulnerable. The committee clerk noted Mitchell’s remarks “were written in the record and duly noted.” No formal action or directive was recorded on the transcript in response to Mitchell’s comments.
Why it matters: The committee reviews land-use permits and subdivisions whose stormwater and grading plans affect runoff. If Myers Creek’s capacity is reduced and sediment or debris has accumulated, nearby homes, streets and school access could be at increased risk during heavy storms. Mitchell’s remarks flag a need for the city to reconcile development reviews with an unfinished drainage study.
