SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A problem has reemerged after it was washed away eight months ago in San Diego's Shelltown — junk left by homeless encampments can once again be seen in the culverts along the Interstate 5 freeway that lines the neighborhood.
Shelltown flood victim Cristal Ramirez found blankets, pillows, and other junk filling the storm drains right next to her home. She believes those storm drains are the root cause of her community's flooding in the Jan. 22 storm.
Now, Ramirez is scared that history is repeating itself, and she wants to stop this persistent problem near her home.
"I can't make this stuff up," Ramirez said in a video she took of the storm drains filled with junk from encampments.
Ramirez said it's giving her flashbacks to the Jan. 22 storm when her home and neighborhood flooded.
She cried as she talked about her sister Ana swimming through high waters to pull people to safety.
"My sister risked her life to save neighbors, to save me, and ... that to me is the biggest testimony of courage," Ramirez said. "And we want to see that same courage from our politicians, policy makers, councilmembers who pledges to take care of us."
ABC 10News visited Ramirez and her sister Ana in March when they showed the repairs they were making to their home.
Ramirez said she was a different person back then.
"I couldn't speak like I'm speaking now," Ramirez said. "I felt mute because I was going through the motions, a deep depression, but now I've found my voice."
Ramirez is using her voice to call attention to the trash and buildup surrounding the storm drains by her house.
Ramirez also invited Councilmember Vivian Moreno to see this issue she is addressing in Shelltown. She wrote Moreno a letter that said in part, "Will you step up and offer these children the security of knowing their home won't wash away again?"
WATCH: Ramirez reads her emotional letter, pleading the councilmember to help her neighborhood and stay on top of the issue.
"We're doing our part," Ramirez said. "We had to demolish our own property. We really want to make sure the city and Caltrans take full responsibility and do something and allocate the necessary funds to our community because they want our safety to be secure."
In August, Ramirez filed a report on the City of San Diego's Get It Done app. It was one of several reports she said she had filed over the years.
Ramirez said she did not get a response, so ABC 10News reached out.
A spokesperson for the City of San Diego said that 12 miles of channels in the Chollas Creek watershed were cleaned after the Jan. 22 flood. The statement also said, “Mayor Todd Gloria has included funding in the stormwater department budget in the fiscal year 2025 to maintain those channels at the same level ahead of the next rainy season.”
The city's spokesperson also said the culverts next to Ramirez's home is Shelltown is also in Caltrans jurisdiction.
Caltrans wrote ABC 10News and said it received a "Report that the small culvert along the I-5 freeway in the area is collecting debris and vegetation."
Caltrans told ABC 10News it was going to assign a crew to clean up the area, but at last check, it still had not set a date.
Ramirez said she hopes the city will "maintain our canals, and have a structured schedule" while staying on top of the issue.
Like Ramirez, ABC 10News also wrote Moreno, and she declined both Ramirez's and our request to do an interview or send a statement on the issue.
