County Grand Jury Urges Council to Fix Leucadia Street Flooding

The San Diego County grand jury today urged the Encinitas City Council to do something about the flooding in Leucadia caused by a storm drain system unable to handle the runoff.

The worst problem, according to the watchdog panel, is around Leucadia
Roadside Park at Coast Highway and Vulcan Avenue, where firefighters use
portable pumps to help move water away from a drain overwhelmed when as little as a half-inch of rain falls.

In a severe downpour, as many as 152 properties could be flooded,
according to the grand jury report, which suggests running a drain through a
bluff at Leucadia Roadside Park and considering the creation of a special tax
district to raise money to pay for the job.

The Encinitas City Council has until Aug. 23 to respond to the grand jury.

Mayor Jerome Stocks said the city would respond in "an appropriate and
timely manner." He did not address the condition of the storm drains.  

The city last upgraded the storm drain system about eight years ago.

The state Coastal Commission limits drain pipes that discharge into the ocean to a diameter of 2 feet, and a roughly 9-foot conduit would be needed in Leucadia to handle the runoff in a worst-case scenario.

The grand jury cited an engineering report that overhauling the drain system could cost as much as $42 million. The city's annual is of less than $60 million. Individual projects would range from $1 million to about $4.5 million, according to the report.

—City News Service