Recent heavy rainfall in San Diego has caused flooding throughout the county, harming locals and destroying wildlife. Since the floods have passed, environmental organizations continue working to manage lasting impacts on communities and wildlife.
Global warming from climate change increases atmospheric moisture, which greatly intensifies rainfall. The City of San Diego said that, due to climate change, the city will experience more frequent and sudden flooding. Even though flooding events already occur, they are predicted to intensify.
“Because of climate change, there’s more unpredictable weather, so there’s going to be harsh weather that the city needs to prepare for,” freshman Itzeli Valentin said. “I think climate change is very bad, but there are ways to reduce it by using green energy…without having to pollute the atmosphere”.
Stormwater pollution is a large threat to San Diego’s water quality. Due to the increasing rate of floods, not only is San Diego’s water quality affected, but also its biodiversity. Harmful chemicals and debris from the streets can also be fatal to wildlife.
“As a surfer and someone who goes in the water, like, three, two times a week, I’ve seen a lot of dead animals on the shore, and that’s made me really sad,” freshman and surf PE student Holland Penley said.
Excessive rain and flooding also cause this stormwater pollution to affect local beaches, streams and lakes. Project Clean Water stated that the watershed picks up pollutants while making its way to the ocean and other bodies of water, which can harm the safety of beachgoers and lead to closures.
“It’s affected my surf PE because when it rains, the water gets contaminated and we can’t go in the water or we can get really sick,” Penley said. “That affects me because we don’t get to surf those days, and we have to go to the gym…which is not fun.”
Stormwater pollution is also causing San Diego’s storm drains to be clogged. This is a main issue causing increasingly larger, more destructive floods, reinforcing their effects.
“They could take extra precaution by adding more storm drains or adding a filter in a storm drain so it catches the debris, ” Valentin said.
In January 2024, one of the most devastating floods struck San Diego, forcing thousands of locals to evacuate their homes. In the southeastern part of the city, neighborhoods were underwater, homes were flooded and dozens of rescues were initiated.
“From what I see, the city is not making good decisions,” Valentin said. “We still have constant flooding, and it’s really hard to drive through traffic [because of it]. The precautions aren’t working well, so they should definitely change how they go about the flooding and really start thinking about how the community feels and is affected by it.”
