Highway 99 partially reopens, but Acampo neighborhood has not seen help
ACAMPO – The cleanup on Highway 99 near Acampo is not over.
All lanes are open except one northbound lane. Meanwhile, some neighborhoods say no one is rushing in to get water out of their area. The only reason why the water is gone on Harvest Road is because of a few sump pumps purchased by homeowners. Water spills onto the road but it is merely a fraction of what is seen at these homes.
"It was all the way to this level high – it was right here," said Maria Casarez-Asuncion, a resident.
Floodwaters traveled into cars, sheds, yards and homes. But the nightmare does not end there. For days, people say the water being pumped out of the neighborhoods came through these pipes. With nowhere to go, the water looped around this farm before trickling back down into their neighborhoods.
When asked whether San Joaquin County officials forgot about her neighborhood, Pam Walker thinks otherwise. "My neighborhood was totally abused," she said. "The county and public works – everybody has abused us. Nobody has brought in pumps."
CBS13 did reach out to several county officials, but did not receive a response.
So, the neighbors bought their own pumps and got to work. While Caltrans underwent a massive cleanup to reopen the highway, authorities asked Harvest Road residents to stop pumping water. They said, no. That is when it hit neighbors like Jose Fernandez. "In the country there is no help. All the neighbors are working – pumping the water because nobody is coming," he said.
There is no pump on his property. Instead, he is waiting for the water to recede on its own.
Many are hoping Wednesday's rain does not compromise all the hard work they have done.