Acampo neighbors look ahead to winter nearly a year after flooding
ACAMPO -- In January, hundreds of homes in the San Joaquin County town of Acampo were underwater due to historic rain that led to flooding. Now, not even a year since homeowners were evacuated, neighbors are already looking ahead to winter and the rain that will come with it.
At Arbor Mobile Home Park in Acampo, which runs along Highway 99, most homeowners used FEMA funds to fix storm damage. Melissa Youdall fixed the bottom panel of her home in August, eight months after she said water flooded her rain boots and she was forced to evacuate.
"Every time it rains, I have PTSD," Youdall said.
FEMA funds paid for her home to be fixed, and although it took months, Youdall said she is relieved that most of the damage has been taken care of -- but there is still work to do on her home.
Nearby, Youdall's neighbor has not moved back into their home after the flooding. That neighbor's home has not been fixed and watermarks are visible even months later. Youdall doesn't need the visible reminder to know what happened in January.
In March, a CBS13 Investigation uncovered a changing story that left Investigative Reporter Julie Watts with more questions than answers on how a multi-million dollar drainage system didn't prevent flooding at hundreds of homes.
Officials told CBS13 the pump lost power, then they said it was intentionally turned off, but it's unclear who made that decision, Watts' reporting discovered.
The $2.2 million drainage pump was installed before January to stop the flooding neighbors experienced.
"We were directed to stop pumping," San Joaquin County Director of Public Works Fritz Buchman told Watts.
He shared that the pump was turned off multiple times at the direction of multiple agencies, including the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans, to keep the highway open.
"There has not been a procedural change," a statement from San Joaquin County Public Works, shared with CBS13, stated after repeated inquiries about lessons learned from the January flooding.
Youdall said she watches the forecast even more closely now, no matter the amount of rain, to stay ahead of any potential evacuations or impacts to her newly fixed home.
San Joaquin County Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
Earlier in 2023, the San Joaquin County director of emergency operations put out the yearly plan on flooding and solutions to prevent catastrophic damage.
In the report, Acampo Road and State Route 99, known as "Cooper's Corner," are listed as locations that historically flood every ten years during heavy rainfall. When the area floods, according to the report, there is repeated damage to local elementary schools, residences, and businesses.
"Equipment failure has resulted in frequent flooding of the frontage road beneath the underpass," the report outlines.
San Joaquin County is listed as "highly likely" to face a flood incident in the future. When it comes to vulnerability, there are 30,287 properties in San Joaquin County that have a more than 26% chance of being severely affected by flooding over the next 30 years.
County officials told FEMA earlier this year about Acampo flooding every decade, blaming vandalism and a poorly functioning valve on a levee. The county admits in the report that it's highly likely to flood again, and the Office of Emergency Services is working on grants to lower the flood risk.