The original item was published from October 9, 2015 3:00 pm to October 9, 2015 3:03 pm
The City is taking extra precautions in preparation for the El Nino weather conditions forecast for this winter. In August, staff from the City’s public works department and the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority walked the length of the creek to identify potential problem spots in the event of a major rain event. Thirty locations requiring tree work were identified on the Menlo Park side. This maintenance work, completed by city crews in September, included trimming live trees and cutting downed trees into 6’ sections.
The creek levee was inspected and repaired in coordination with the City of Palo Alto. Upstream of the Pope Chaucer Bridge, low points in the levee were filled on both sides of the creek. For the Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 19, the City partnered with Acterra and 59 volunteers to remove debris. Crews removed nine shopping carts, 2,700 pounds of trash and 750 pounds of recyclable material from 1.3 miles of the creek channel.
On Oct. 3 and 4, the City partnered with Redwood City to clean the Atherton Channel and remove a total of 135 cubic yards of weeds and trash. In accordance with permit requirements of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, a biologist oversaw the work.
In addition, three sandbag stations are being maintained by the City for residents to use in preparation for potential rains. The City's Sandbag station location map is live and empty sand bags and sand are available at:
- Pope Street and Laurel Avenue media island
- Burgess Park parking lot at Alma Street and Burgess Drive
- Menlo Park Fire Station No. 77 at 1467 Chilco St.
Other storm preparation steps undertaken include:
- Purchase of extra sand bags
- Inspections of pump stations, generators and pumps
- Winter water supplies filled
- Contractor hired to clean high-maintenance storm drains.
- Winterizing buildings, which includes cleaning gutters, area drains, sump pumps and checking roofs.
The City’s
storm and flooding preparedness webpage is now online.
