Flooding issues have been familiar to many Arvin residents for decades, and Friday the flood debris were back again.
23ABC spoke with Kern County Public Works officials about what they are doing to combat the issue. Mark Evans of Kern County Public Works road maintenance also had a busy day today, "Dropped a lot of rain on the foothills to the east and that’s what we are dealing with today a lot of flooding out in the Arvin and Lamont area," Evans said.
His crew of a dozen people spent their afternoon trying to keep as many roads open for commuters, but the storm had other plans. Many of our reporters were almost knee deep in mud and water with crews on the ground.
Drivers told 23ABC they also weren't trying to take the risk getting their feet wet either, "Cause it's very dangerous, I'm not going to drive across it, I am going to turn around and go back the other way," one driver said.
Closer to the mountains Highway 223 and 58 were also shut down.
County officials took a flood survey since the last time this happened, and have identified a possible solution to the problem, "It's dealing with it in the Caliente Basin area, and trying to widen it there, slow down the water, or even divert the water," Evans said.
According to Evans until that happens this issue will likely reclaim the streets again. "We'll be ready for it and we'll do everything we can again to again minimize the impact to the community."
23ABC reached out to the county to find out what's next and haven't heard back, but officials did excavate the drainage area to accept as much rainfall from today as possible.
