Storms to continue through weekend: Residents in Olivehurst impacted by minor flooding, with more possibly on the way

Michaela Harris, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·3 min read

Jan. 5—Persisting winter storms across the Sacramento Valley will bring more heavy rain, high winds and significant flooding this week. With a number of neighborhoods lacking sidewalks, drains and gutters, Olivehurst is currently facing some flooding and possibly more as a result of the anticipated storms.

Officials with the National Weather Service announced an extreme flood risk in the Valley on Wednesday, but that risk had the chance of being lowered to a major risk this morning. Storms are expected to persist and fluctuate through Jan. 10, officials said.

Moderate to heavy rain on already saturated soils could lead to areas of rapidly developing roadway and urban flooding as well as raises in creeks, streams and rivers, officials said. Rainfall levels on Friday are expected to taper off before surging into another storm over the weekend and into next week.

Warning Coordination Meteorologist Courtney Carpenter said that high winds could lead to downed trees and powerlines, increasing the chances of widespread power outages in the area.

"We're in a wet pattern. We're going to continue to see these storm systems. We're looking at a very strong storm today along with the rain which with the burn scar concerns are going to bring very damaging winds to a widespread area across Northern California," Carpenter said during a briefing.

Areas in the Sacramento Valley could see 45-70 mph winds with the strongest occurring Wednesday evening to early this morning, she said.

More heavy precipitation is expected today with the strongest rain arriving this afternoon. Carpenter said that the compounding effects of these storm systems may lead to more flooding along roadways, bodies of water and developing areas.

"We do want to note that even with the weak storm we had on Monday, we notice a lot of renewed flooding especially on those roadways and low-lying areas. As we just keep adding to the already saturated ground, the water just doesn't have room to soak in, so expect those impacts to continue increasing," she said.

While many areas in Olivehurst now have sidewalks to avoid pooling in certain areas, a number of neighborhoods do not. In some instances this week, ditches have been dug alongside roadways to drain water away from surrounding properties, Yuba County Media and Community Relations Coordinator Russ Brown said in an email.

In spite of the persisting rainfall, Brown did not report seeing any flooding in Olivehurst roadways.

"We were out in Olivehurst in between storms, so we did not see any flooding on the roadways. Yuba County Public Works had no current reports of flooding. Some of the properties do have water pooled on them, which is very common during and after heavy rainfall," he said.

As a historic area of Yuba County, much of the infrastructure in Olivehurst was built to an older set of standards leading to a lack of sidewalks, gutters and proper drainage seen in newer communities. Brown said that because of this, some areas of Olivehurst are more susceptible to flooding during larger storms.

According to Brown, the county has made efforts to initiate a number of infrastructure projects to improve roads, drainage and other amenities for the area to mixed success.

Yuba County Public Works recently applied for funding through the California Transportation Commission's Active Transportation Program to construct bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and other improvements in Olivehurst, but the application was unsuccessful, Brown said.

However, The county continues to pursue similar funding, and as officials are successful in getting such grants, the Yuba Water Agency has committed to adding funds for the purpose of including the construction of storm drains and complete drainage improvements within the projects, he said.

Yuba County provides sandbags to residents to use during flooding emergencies at no cost. Sandbags or piles of sand can be picked up at 1420 Sky Harbor Dr. in Olivehurst and 5390 Fruitland Rd. in Loma Rica. Brown said that the Olivehurst location is always open while the Loma Rica location is open 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.