When heavy rain is in the forecast, the Arellano household isn’t thinking about umbrellas or cozy afternoons watching the rain fall outside.
Marcela Arellano and her husband have a different routine. They check the yard, move anything that could be damaged, and keep an eye on the stormwater channel that runs behind several properties near Market Street and 29th Street. That’s usually where their worries begin.
They moved to Southcrest in 1999. In this house, they raised their son, planted guava and mandarin trees, and made improvements little by little as work and savings allowed.
“The romantic image people have of a rainy day is sitting back and enjoying the sound of the rain,” Marcela said. “For us, it’s the opposite. We’re always watching to see how fast the water is rising along the curb.”
For years, they lived with that concern without experiencing major damage.
That changed in 2021.
Behind a nearby apartment complex is a stormwater channel where trash, dirt and debris had accumulated over time. When a particularly powerful storm hit the area, the water stopped following its normal path.
“It all came this way,” she said.
The flow knocked down part of a wall and pushed into the property. The family barely had time to react.
They lost a Toyota Corolla, furniture, carpeting and several household appliances. Months later, they discovered that water had also become trapped inside some of the walls.
A friend of their son noticed signs of damage and offered to help make repairs.
When they opened a section of drywall, they found trapped moisture, deteriorated materials and mold that had remained hidden since the flood.
Marcela said she tried to file claims related to the damage, but she couldn’t navigate the requirements and deadlines involved in the process.
“Nobody did anything,” she said.
When heavy storms returned to the region in January 2024, no one in the family slept easily.
Marcela moved from room to room while her husband repeatedly stepped outside to check the street. Every so often, they opened the front door to see how high the water had gotten.
That time, the water never entered the house.
Even so, nobody relaxed until the storm had passed.
The Arellanos’ concern has only grown as they hear warnings about the possibility of another strong El Niño season bringing heavy rain and flooding across Southern California.
A few weeks ago, Marcela brought those concerns to a meeting of the Southeastern Planning Group, where city officials presented flood-control projects aimed at reducing risks within the Chollas Creek watershed.
When she was handed the microphone, she spoke about what her family has been through.
She said her property has flooded at least three times. She talked about losing her car, the repairs that followed and the nights she still spends watching weather forecasts whenever storms are on the horizon.
Other residents spoke after her, sharing similar concerns about flooding, drainage systems and whether existing infrastructure will be able to handle future storms.
A few days later, back at her property, Marcela walked to the rear of the house and pointed toward the channel that cuts through the area.
“All the water comes down through there,” she said.
She pointed to a pipe a few yards away.
“And that’s the pipe where all the water is supposed to go,” she said. “The problem is that it’s too small, and a lot of the time it’s clogged with trash, branches and debris.”
The Arellanos have no plans to move. This is where they built their life.
Before heading back inside, Marcela looks toward the channel one more time.
“We just hope it holds,” she said.
