SF officials to address neighbors upset by lingering Mission flood damages

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ByCarolyn Tyler KGO logo
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
SF City officials to address neighbors upset by lingering flood damages
Residents of the Mission Terrace neighborhood in San Francisco are still dealing with the damages from floods in 2014.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Bay Area got quite a dousing this weekend, which was a welcome sight for many. But it was a concern for people in some San Francisco neighborhoods, where flooding has been a problem. City officials will address those concerns on Monday night.

It'll be two years ago this December that heavy rain created a nightmare for people in the Mission Terrace neighborhood. Raw sewage mixed with storm water flowed down the streets and into basements and garages. Since then, Blane Bachelor and her husband have spent thousands on repairs.

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"Well the work that we've done here has come all out of pocket," Bachelor said. "We've had to dig very deep into savings. We had to borrow from our parents. The city promised to fix everything and they haven't."

"A lot of work has been done. They might not see it," said Jean Walsh with the SF Public Utilities Commission.

The SFPUC acknowledges that their infrastructure is old. Some sewer pipes were installed during the Gold Rush days. They are now exploring a 20 year, multi-million dollar fix for neighborhoods throughout the city.

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They hope land owned by Caltrans could be used for a project in Mission Terrace.

"There's sort of an earthen berm there at the end of the street," said Walsh. "We're looking at sort of, leveling that and bringing it down so the storm water can flow there."

That could be another two years away and with a new baby, the Bachelor family feels the SFPUC and the mayor are not moving quickly enough. They're among dozens who have filed suit against the city.

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"All this talk about long term solution, it's just excuses," said Bachelor.

City officials will update their plans during a community meeting Monday night.