If you have ditches or culverts around your district property, it is important that you inspect the entire length of these and make sure to do that soon. When you are inspecting ditches and culverts it is important to make sure they are clean of any branches, pinecones, pine needles, and garbage. Even grass or weeds can cause backups of water. Water will flow better when they have the least amount of resistance.

Another area to keep clean is any storm drains you may have around your property or even in your parking lots. Leaves, garbage, and dirt are often responsible for clogging storm drains. Inspect each one of these to ensure water can enter freely. It may even be a good idea to snake a few of these areas to ensure water will continue to flow freely and not get backed up.

If you feel your district may still have flooding, it is important to have sandbags on hand now and ready for placement. If you must place sandbags, you want to place them against areas like doors or garage doors, storm drains, and other areas you want to divert water away from.

It is important to pay attention to updates and alerts that may provide additional information for your area. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this with risk management, please contact us at 800-285-5461 or email at riskmanagment@sdao.com.