Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Flood Response topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mill Valley staff say pump failures, blocked inlets and an intense downpour drove Dec. 27 flood; residents say late alerts cost cars
Summary
City staff presented an after-action report citing an unusually intense storm (about 3.22 inches over three hours), two pumps out of service at the Sycamore flood station and inlet blockages; residents said the city failed to notify them in time, costing multiple vehicles and prompting commitments to improve Alert Marin use and neighborhood outreach.
City officials told the Mill Valley City Council on Jan. 27 that a rare, concentrated storm and equipment and coordination failures combined to produce the Dec. 27 Sycamore‑area flooding that damaged vehicles and homes.
City Manager Cusmano summarized the after‑action report: the rainfall exceeded forecasts, registering "over 3.22 inches of rain" in roughly a three‑hour window, and the Sycamore flood station experienced pump failures — two of its three pumps tripped and remained offline for several hours before being restored. Staff said blocked storm inlets and upstream debris (including an earlier week‑long water‑main event that left sediment in the system) worsened flows. "Regardless of what happened with the inlets and MMWD and the pump station, it would have flooded. We would have seen flooding, but we wouldn't have seen flooding to this extent," Cusmano said.
Several residents told the council they had little or no advance notice. Tom Redmond (290 Sycamore) said he and his family awoke to a wave of water around 1 a.m., lost multiple vehicles and spent thousands on repairs. "If we'd had a notice at 01:00, we would have moved," Redmond said, describing three totaled cars and continuing household repairs. Neighbor John Lehi said just 10–15 minutes of warning would have allowed residents to protect property.
Police and emergency staff acknowledged a communication failure. Police and county OEM staff decided not to send an Alert Marin life‑safety message that night because regional partners judged the major storm had passed and creeks had not crested, the police chief said; he apologized to affected residents and said Alert Marin should have been used. The chief described Nixle as more appropriate for traffic incidents and said Alert Marin is the proper platform for life‑safety warnings.
City staff outlined short- and longer-term remedies: correcting pump-station electrical/load issues (staff said ampage problems have been fixed), coordinating earlier debris clean‑up with Marin Municipal Water District and DPW, increasing use of Alert Marin and encouraging resident sign‑ups, and holding neighborhood meetings to put faces to response teams and clarify roles and expectations. Staff also identified capital projects and funding avenues: Flood Zone 3 and Measure L funds will advance prioritized drainage and pipe‑capacity projects, and staff cited a $1.9 million Sycamore pump station improvement and larger drainage program estimates from prior studies.
Councilmembers asked staff to provide more clarity on the technical triggers used for alerts, to boost resident registrations for Alert Marin, and to track results publicly. The city committed to neighborhood meetings to review the report, gather resident observations and describe immediate and capital actions.
