Sewage overflow from Tuesday’s storm caused the cancellation of
Saturday’s Harvest Festival at Ludewig Ranch in San Martin.
Sewage overflow from Tuesday’s storm caused the cancellation of Saturday’s Harvest Festival at Ludewig Ranch in San Martin.
The storm eclipsed January 2008’s flooding, when 3.6 inches of rain fell, according to the National Weather Service. This week’s storm dropped 6.9 inches of rain on Morgan Hill.
Morgan Hill City Manager Ed Tewes said a pipe connecting Morgan Hill’s sewage to a Gilroy cleanup plant backed up, sopping the ranch with as much as 40,000 gallons of sewage. Tewes said the city reported the spill to the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The festival was to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank, which provides food to homeless and needy families in South County. Volunteer Juliette Smith said no one was allowed on the property out of a concern that E. coli or other dangerous bacteria could be present there.
Much of Morgan Hill was underwater by rush hour Tuesday as the largest storm in decades hit the Bay Area. And while there was plenty of inconvenience for residents and business owners, there were no injuries reported and little property damage.
Downtown Morgan Hill was again underwater, with water splashing through the front entrances of businesses as motorists drove by. Sections of Butterfield Boulevard were closed, as were numerous roads and intersections throughout town.
Branches and trees fell under the weight of the rain water around town, falling on at least one car in the Vineyard Town Center parking lot. Traffic signals went out. Cars became submerged or stalled in water.
Tewes did not have an estimate of how much property damage was sustained in Tuesday’s storm. Public works officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
