Don't Get Stuck Up the Creek Without a Paddle
Be prepared for El Niño—possible Dam failure—and a Flood rivaling 1916
"Up the creek without a paddle" means you are "in a difficult, troublesome, or hopeless situation with no easy way out and no means to fix it." You don't want to be that person.
When I lived in Coronado—before moving to beautiful Bonita—I was an active member of the San Diego County CERT program (Community Emergency Response Team) and CERO (Community Emergency Radio Operators—HAM). CERT members are trained volunteers for local emergency services during major disasters when first responders are overwhelmed. I worked closely with the Coronado Fire Department and Chief Mike Blood.
Left to right: Pet evacuation training event | Expired CERT card | Request for me to set up a training session in the Coronado Cays community | Click on images to enlarge
In that capacity, I set up training drills, participated in County training events, was a member of the Coronado CERT Board and one of a handful of volunteers trained by the County of San Diego to actually teach the program. When I first moved to Sunnyside, I was asked by Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District Chief Tim Isbell to set up a Bonita program. Unfortunately, I was knee-deep in construction and couldn't set aside the time.
Why does any of this matter? Because of my training, I was taught to look at the "big picture" and situations that may be of grave danger down the road. Three recent events set off my radar big time.
Left to right: Damaged spillway | Letter from Sweetwater Authority | Late email about meeting | Click on images to enlarge
Causes For Concern
First there's the damaged spillway that the Sweetwater Authority has ignored for years while attention was directed to building floating solar on the reservoir. The Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD) gave Sweetwater Dam a hazard rating of "Extremely High".
Then I received a CYA letter from SWA that informed me I was located in the inundation zone.
Finally, I receive an email from South Bay Water (AKA Sweetwater Authority) about a next day meeting, with less than 24-hour notice. Incompetence or lack of transparency? I decided that they didn't want us asking questions about that damaged spillway and a possible flood through Bonita-Sunnyside.
Sweetwater Dam Inundation Zone
This article is a follow up to "Emergency Preparedness Notice Mailed to Residents Located Within the Sweetwater Dam Inundation Zone".
The most important information in that article was a live Sweetwater Dam Inundation Zone map. In the event of a failed dam, you will either be in the inundation zone and washed away or outside the zone but stuck in your home because the roads will be washed out.
Here is the Sweetwater Dam Inundation Zone. The water you see is what was San Miguel/Bonita Road. You most likely will not be able to drive out of Bonita-Sunnyside. You might wish to purchase a boat or a horse. Click here to activate the map.
How Should I Prepare?
You'll want to sign up immediately for AlertSanDiego. That just takes a couple of minutes. Think of it as Reverse 9-1-1. They will call you to warn you if you need to get out or not . . . if there is time. I have received alerts in the past and they are pretty good about it.
Don't rely on anyone or anything to save you . . . you need to save yourself.
Watch weather reports. If we're supposed to get a lot of rain, that could take the dam to a too-high water surface level. Be aware of the weather.
You might want to find an alternative location for yourself, your family and your animals before the incident. Get away from a possible flood by staying with relatives or at a hotel.
Map out escape routes and higher ground that you could reach in a hurry. Do not wait until the last minute.
If you decide to shelter-in-place, you will need a lot of water (one gallon per person per day, plus pets) and food. You may not be able to drive on the streets.
If you are a horse owner, remember that they drink a lot of water. I purchased new plastic garbage cans to fill up for them. You can even leave the cans open for the next few days and the rain will fill them up for free!
This guide below is for 30 days. Better to be safe than sorry so get your essentials together NOW. Who knows how long it will take the County to repair our transportation routes.
When Should I Prepare?
NOW. There's no time like the present. And then you can just forget about it until the event arrives.
We are forecasted to get three or four small storms over the next few days. It's raining right now as I type this. I don't think that these little sprinkles will have an effect on anything major.
I do think we might be getting substantial rain for Thanksgiving, maybe even as early as November 17. Get prepared NOW so you can relax. And then keep your fingers crossed!
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