TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — As we’ve seen through this summer, monsoon storms can be very hit or miss across Southern Arizona and the city of Tucson. And heavy rain hits some neighborhoods harder than others.
Flowing floodwater filled several Midtown streets Tuesday evening as a strong thunderstorm moved through the area. Intersections like Tucson Boulevard and 6th Street, and 5th Street and Alvernon were inundated.
Mike Graham with the Department of Transportation and Mobility says the city’s older neighborhoods don’t have the infrastructure to handle quick, intense thunderstorms.
“In the ‘70s and ‘80s, development standards changed where a lot of the newer neighborhoods, the developer’s required now to put in underground storm drain systems,” he said. “A lot of the older neighborhoods here in Tucson don’t have underground storm drain systems. So the roadway actually carries the storm water.
“The roadways are inverted to carry storm water and then it dumps into an underground storm drain system or grate that covers the roadway.”
But without better infrastructure or big washes nearby, that water can build up in neighborhoods like Sam Hughes, Blenman-Elm or Jefferson Park.
Big, arterial streets like Broadway are less likely to flood. The city’s multi-phase Broadway construction project is adding a 96 inch underground storm drain system and 12 underground box culverts.
But Graham says that kind of overhaul on older, smaller streets in Midtown would be too disruptive and expensive.
“If we were to make major underground storm drain systems in neighborhoods, it would cost a lot of money to do all—retrofit all of the neighborhoods within Tucson,” he said.
So the threat of street flooding in midtown will stick around. DTM says homeowners’ best defense for big storms is sandbags available in the Hi-Corbett Field parking lot. Residents need to bring their own shovel and have a limit of 10 sandbags per vehicle.
DTM says drivers should never drive into floodwater and remember to “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.”
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Ryan Fish is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9 and comes to the Sonoran Desert from California’s Central Coast after working as a reporter, sports anchor and weather forecaster in Santa Barbara. Ryan grew up in the Chicago suburbs, frequently visiting family in Tucson. Share your story ideas and important issues with Ryan by emailing ryan.fish@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
