Santee Engineers Work to Prevent Another Pebble Beach Sinkhole

The city of Santee realizes that once a storm drain has sunk, it's a much more costly and invasive hazard to patch up than if it had been replaced or reinforced beforehand. This why the city is in the process of replacing decades old storm drains around town before they corrode and crumble, causing the likes of the gaping hole in last year and the recent sinkhole that caught a truck on Rancho Fanita Drive.

The city decided in 2010 that engineers would inspect 6.75 miles of the city's storm drains and fix points of deterioration, starting with the most crucial areas. Over the next five years, $5 million is allotted to be spent on this project, but the money is not set aside, meaning funding could be an issue.

Five of the top priority drains have been repaired, including the one on Pebble Beach. Repairs to the Rancho Fanita drain should be done in a matter of weeks, and 10 other drains are being worked on currently, according to the Santee Review. The very worst of the drains have already been dealt with.

Read more about the storm drain fix at the Santee Review, the city's own blog.