Roseville Hopes Lessons Learned From 1995 Flood Will Help This Weekend
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — The city of Roseville is providing free sand and bags for residents as a way to help them prepare for this weekend's massive storm.
Roseville residents Nicholas Crown and his wife came out Maidu Park to fill their bags. They know the sand bags will help protect their property.
"Its concerning. It's a lot of water coming in a short amount of time. So, it'll definitely cause a lot of problems," he said.
And problems around flooding is what the city of Roseville is hoping to avoid ahead of Sunday's massive storm.
There is a sign near Cirby Creek in that stands about seven feet high, commenting how high the flood water rose in 1995.
Carl Walker, a senior civil engineer with Roseville, says the city has made huge improvements since the devastating floods of 1995.
That includes investing over $20 million to upgrade infrastructure, including building levees and flood walls, widening streams and installing water pumps.
He hopes the improvements help out this weekend.
"With these improvements, we have better capacity than we did in 1995," he said.
The city has also invested in public outreach, using mailers and social media to encourage residents to do their part, like raking up leaves and clearing out storm drains.
"It helps in keeping the the water moving along and off the streets and into creek creeks. That's where it belongs. Keeping the drain clear is key to that," explained Walker.
Herb McIndoe's house was damaged In the 1995 flooding. He has done what he can ahead of Sunday's storm. But he says the changes the city has made has changed his life.
"Build the levees, completely redo this area. Absolutely. Best thing they've ever done. I'm very happy living here now."
One of the big concerns for the city is what comes after Sunday. Sunday expects to be the first big day of rain. The next rainy day is supposed to be Tuesday. That may not be enough time for water levels to drop. If they don't, that greatly increases chance for flooding.
