Inside San Diego

Inside San Diego logo

News & information from the City of San Diego

Environment | Videos

City Workers Continue Maintenance of San Diego’s Stormwater Channels

Throughout the City of San Diego, crews work proactively to maintain the channels that carry rain runoff from neighborhoods to the Pacific Ocean. City employees from the Stormwater Department work alongside teams from Urban Corps to clear non-native plants, trash and debris. 

Work was recently completed in the Jamacha Channel in the Skyline-Paradise Hills area this month, and the dry weather provides ideal conditions for crews to complete the work ahead of the rainy season. This brush removal will help keep water flowing during heavy rains.

The City conducted emergency maintenance for 18 miles of channels, including 12 miles in the Chollas Creek watershed, following the emergency declaration in response to the historic Jan. 22 storm. Mayor Todd Gloria has included funding in the Stormwater Department budget in Fiscal Year 2025 to continue maintaining those channels at the same level ahead of the upcoming rainy season.

Stormwater crews plan to be in the Southcrest community to remove invasive vegetation from channels there within the next few weeks. To learn more about channel maintenance in San Diego, visit https://www.sandiego.gov/stormwater/services.