BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The recent rainfall has caused a multitude of issues in Kern County and the surrounding areas, including road closures due to heavy snowfall and flooding. In Bakersfield, residents saw traffic jams and flooded roads.
After a day of relative calm at the start of the new week, residents should expect to see Kern County weather returning to stormy conditions. Engineering Manager for Kern County Public Works and Maintenance Division Alejandro Bedolla has advice for people impacted by flooding.
"I would call the local fire department for any of the sandbag locations. I know our Kern County Public Works webpage also has sand locations as well," said Bedolla. "We've been working closely with the fire department. If any of these locations might need more sand, public works helps out and actually will send materials out there."
A few locations stocked with sand right now are Wofford Heights Park, Hanning Flat along Sierra Highway, and the Kernville Rodeo Grounds.
In addition to providing sandbags to residents to help protect their personal property from flooding, Bakersfield residents can also call specialty department within the city's public works agency to report flooded roads and clogged storm drains (326-3111), to report broken branches or fallen trees creating hazards (326-3866), or to report malfunctioning or broken street lights or traffic signals (326-3781).
Bedolla says Bakersfield's storm drains are not designed to take in this much water this quickly, and the city's road maintenance crews continue to set up 'Flooded' caution signs and pump water out of the streets as fast as they can.
The drainage system in the City of Bakersfield is built to meet 10-year storm requirements of 1.5 inches of rain over a 24 hour period. Over February 25 and 26, Bakersfield got two inches of rain. According to the city's water resources department, the average precipitation Bakersfield receives in a year is just over 6.5 inches. That means the city received nearly one-third of its annual average rainfall in just two days.
The city says an investment to increase the capacity of the drainage system is not being considered at this time because in the past, storms of this magnitude have been infrequent.
Kern County Public Works is also advising residents to avoid driving in storm conditions, especially at night. If travel is necessary, drivers are advices to look out for hazard signs, pay attention to any announced road closures, and don't try to drive through standing water.
"Again, if you see a big puddle out there in the middle of the road, don't drive faster through it. If anything, just be aware that anything and everything could be inside those puddles," said Bedolla. "Just be really careful out there."
