Over the coming months, San Luis Obispo County Public Works will be mapping locations of existing infrastructure like inlets, outlets, pipes, infiltrators, and manholes that handle stormwater, making sure they’re connected and in the right places.
Updates to stormwater drainage system data are typically done every ten years.
“If we have areas where there is localized flooding, we can isolate how that pipe might be, what inlets are contributing to it and give us a broader understanding of how the systems are working,” said Ann Fletcher, County Stormwater Program Coordinator.
Fletcher says one of the biggest obstacles during this project is finding the various pieces of infrastructure.
“There’s a tendency to camouflage it with pavers or wine barrel planters, parking equipment, RVs over it. It makes it very hard for us to find that equipment. If you’re someone who has got a manhole near your front yard with plants on it, this would be a great time to take those plants off so we can find it,” Fletcher said.
She says they expect this project to be completed by April.