Pueblo West storm cleanup wraps up
Two days after a storm passed over Pueblo West, cleanup continues.
“Within 20 minutes, this whole area was just a lake,” said Herman Arellano, a Pueblo West resident.
Arellano worries he’s in for a lot more cleanup because of drainage problems in the metro area.
Board members admit the damage to roads and minor flooding to the area is problematic.
“When people have problems getting to and from their homes and we have standing water, we still need to come out and try and resolve the problems for them,” said Shawn Winters, the assistant engineer for Pueblo West Metro District.
Neighbors say the intersection of Kirkwood and Purcell needs to be repaired at least once a year because of storms.
“This road right here, Kirkwood, I can’t believe how many times metro has had to come out and work on it,” Arellano said.
Arellano wants a more permanent fix to prevent flooding like this in the future.
“I really don’t know what the answer is, other than putting some sort of drainage system in,” Arellano said.
But since spring and summer storms are often unpredictable, Winters says the solution isn’t simple.
“We don’t have funding set aside just for cleanup on precipitation events, we have to kind of just work with what mother nature gives us,” Winters said.
