San Lorenzo River Flood Concerns

UPDATE 01/17/19 5:30 p.m. The San Lorenzo River rose roughly 8 feet after heavy rains on Wednesday and early Thursday morning.

Every winter most people living along the river have to prepare for the worst and this year is no different.

“Winter time is always a time of concern,” says resident Patrick Boole who has lived in Felton for more than 40 years.

Santa Cruz County Public Works says the river is unpredictable and can rise quickly with heavy rains, like we saw this week. “It doesn’t take a terribly large amount of rain for it to respond. and it’s a very flashy river meaning it responds really quickly and rapidly to heavy rainfall,” says County Flood Control Manager Mark Strudley.

Strudley also adds the river is still a threat hours after the rain stops since water is still running down from the mountains, “it takes some time for the rains to hit the grounds to work their way through the channels and into the river so there is a bit of a lag. So for the San Lorenzo River it’s on the border on half an hour to several hours for that lag. But if you talk about a bigger river system live the Pajaro River system it can be a whole day before you see that peak on the river move through after the storm passes.”

For some, heavy rains means more than just preparing them self. Lindsay Overton has a horse she keeps at the Covered Bridge Equestrian Facility which is right next to the San Lorenzo River.

Overton says every time it rains, “its really scary, in here where miller lives he’s close to the river and it can rise really quickly especially if trees fall down or something and then the waters can come in and flood so we want to get them out long before their in any danger. So we watch the water gage like crazy.”

There are several ways to check the height of the river. One you can text 11160500 to waternow@usgs.gov or click here.

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The San Lorenzo River rose roughly 8 feet after heavy rains on Wednesday and early Thursday morning.

Every winter most people living along the river have to prepare for the worst and this year is no different.

Santa Cruz County Public Works says the river is unpredictable and can rise quickly with heavy rains, like we saw this week.

They also add the river is still a threat hours after the rain stops since water is still running down from the mountains.

KIONS Ashley Keehn will have more at 5 & 6 p.m.