FILLMORE : City to Build Storm Drain for $110,000

A north Fillmore neighborhood plagued by frequent flooding will be protected by a new storm drain costing $110,000, the Fillmore City Council has decided.

City officials said it will take about two years to build a drain under Southern Pacific railroad tracks near Lemon Way.

Lemon Way has experienced flooding every two or three years, Fillmore City Engineer Bert Rapp said. The tracks act as a dam, preventing water from leaving the area, he said. During heavy rains in March, some Lemon Way residents dug a channel under the tracks to release water that had threatened their homes.

Although a storm drain now under construction for part of north Fillmore should improve conditions on Lemon Way, the area would still experience flooding about every 25 years, Rapp told the council Tuesday. Another storm drain planned for A Street would further reduce flood danger on Lemon Way, but that project would cost $4.2 million and is not scheduled until 2006, Rapp said.

The council rejected three other alternatives, including building a flood wall around four houses for $30,000 and protecting seven other homes with sandbags.

The storm drain was the preferred alternative of residents during a recent meeting with city officials.