Pueblo cleans up after flooding

An early-morning storm on Friday ripped through Pueblo, bringing a lot of moisture.

“It was kind of terrific. We heard a lot of banging and stuff,” said Bobby Hill, who lives on Pueblo’s south side.

The storm hit the south side of the city hardest, causing flooding on Mesa and Stone avenues.

“I opened the front door and I couldn’t believe it. I could not believe it. It was still completely up when I woke up,” said Geraldine Williams, who lives on Mesa Avenue.

Neighbors say this isn’t the first time they’ve seen flooding like this. They believe it’s the clogged drains that causes the flooding.

“If they could keep our drains clear, especially when they know storms like this are coming in, it would be a big help to us,” Williams said.
City Public Works Director Earl Wilkinson says the drains are cleaned regularly, but there aren’t enough of them in places.

“Yes, there are areas that do flood more often, but it’s usually a limited time period and that’s the way it was initially designed,” Wilkinson said.

But without the resources to replace or increase the drainage, people here will have to live with occasional flood damage to their property.