Recent storms have City of Lodi seeking more drainage capacity

Apr. 1—The City of Lodi may undertake some modification projects at various parks to improve drainage and storm water capacity after the series of atmospheric rivers that drenched the Central Valley earlier this year.

During a March 28 shirtsleeve meeting, the public works department said DeBenedetti, Vinewood, Kofu and Rose Gate parks may all see added pump and drain equipment in the future.

Public works staff said the city's basins — the parks where the majority of ground is below street level — are designed to handle a maximum 4.8 inches of rain during a single storm.

During the large storm on Oct. 24, 2021, staff said the city's basins all filled to capacity in 22 hours, and during one storm this past New Year's Eve, the basins handled 6.6 inches of rain in 32 hours.

Staff said the New Year's Eve storm produced much more rain than the basins were designed to handle.

As an example, DeBenedetti Park at Century Boulevard and Lower Sacramento Road was handling 2.5 inches of rain by 4 p.m. on Dec. 31, and five hours later, it had been flooded with more than 6 inches of water, staff said.

In addition, flood waters at Kofu Park were about two feet above its high water level, or the lip that levels off to street level.

"Our storm drain system master plan was designed in the '60s," public works director Charles Swimley said.

"And since that time, we've been able to weather pretty much every storm without significant amounts of street flooding."

But during the recent series of atmospheric rivers, Swimley said his department received dozens of flood reports in the neighborhood around Vinewood Park, both north and south of Vine Street, as well as in the neighborhood near DeBenedetti Park north of Century Boulevard.

He said the floods caused by the recent storms were not normal for Lodi.

"Even though we had our basins at one point about 150% full, we didn't get any homes wet," he said. "There might have been some garages that got wet, and it certainly was an inconvenience for some folks. But at that point the streets became extensions of our basins, so that's where the water went."

To combat flooding into the streets in the future, Swimley has proposed adding a new pipe at Kofu Park between the skate park and baseball field to add 23% capacity so water does not flow onto Ham Lane, and Pixley Park, located on Auto Center Drive, would be "squared off" on its southern border to add 58% basin capacity.

In addition, Rose Gate Park would be deepened by about 1.5 feet to add 30% capacity, and the Rose Gate 2 park would be deepened to add about 13% basin capacity.

Vinewood Park would see minor pump station improvements so water would be pumped more efficiently out of the basin, and the center area of DeBeneddetti Park would be deepened to ad 6%basin capacity.

An outfall pipe would be added along Century Boulevard to relieve pressure on the drainage system there, and an additional pipeline could be installed at Vinewood Terrace to relieve system pressure in that area as well.

The Shady Acres pump station would undergo minor modifications to increase pump capacity, as well, staff said.

Residents in attendance said while the proposed projects would help, they worried they would not be completed in time for another round of severe storms.

Andres Verlanda said his neighborhood bore the brunt of the most recent storm, with water creeping five feet into his driveway.

He said water actually was able to get into his home because drivers kept speeding along the streets, creating large waves that crashed into houses.

"We understand these event are far and in between, but who knows that we might not have another one like we did in '21 or '22," Andres Villareal said. "The problem is, we're not considered a flood zone. But I've now purchased insurance for my home in case of a flood."

Swimley said the first goal is to install pipelines near DeBenedetti Park along Lower Sacramento Road by the coming winter.

Because the meeting was a shirtsleeve session, the Lodi City Council did not take any action Tuesday.