Source Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Floods are not new to Albuquerque resident Victor Trujillo.
Trujillo, who lives across the street from the Marble Arno Pump Station on Marble Avenue, said his home experienced floods as far back as the 1950s. So, on Saturday night, when Victor and his wife Monica Trujillo received a text alerting them of a flash flood warning, they were not surprised.
"Here we go again," Victor said.
Saturday night's flooding of City Hall and the Albuquerque Police Department marked the start of the monsoon season, National Weather Service in Albuquerque meteorologist David Craft said.
The Trujillos and their neighbors put sandbags around their properties and baled water away from their homes as the water flowed down Marble and Arno Street. It was so deep in parts that vehicles got stranded and had to be towed or moved after the water level receded over night, he said.
"We had lake Arno going on," Victor said.
David Candelaria said he was walking in a "health hazard" because of all the bacteria that was in the water and "who knows what comes with that," but did so to protect his home.
"We wanted rain so bad, but that not much," Candelaria said.
Meteorologist Clay Anderson said Albuquerque International Sunport received 1.48 inches of precipitation, which nearly doubled the record high, .93 inches, set in 1978. Other parts of the city got over 2 inches with wind gusts of 60-70 mph.
Mayor Tim Keller said about 25 years ago, the area near the Marble Arno Pump Station received major flooding. "I will tell you, last night this neighborhood would have looked like that again, if not for the station," he said during a press conference in front of the pump station Sunday morning.
"In many ways, it was a miracle," he said. "Had that pond not been there, we would have had what we had 25 years ago."
About two years ago, the city built the Marble Arno Pump Station to protect neighborhoods from floods. But on Saturday night, Mayor's Office spokeswoman Ava Montoya said two of the four pumps stopped working after an initial power surge. The city and the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Authority were able to manually turned the pumps back on.
The flooding caused the drainage pond, which can hold up to 78-acre-feet of water, Montoya said, to fill up.
"I got really concerned when it overflowed the banks of the detention pond," Victor Trujillo said.
Despite the issues with the pumps, Montoya said the pump station "ultimately saved the surrounding neighborhood from more severe flooding."
"I don't appreciate the water rising, but I appreciate the fact that there (was) not much water in my house," Trujillo said. "It did its job.
"It could have been better, but what can't be (better)?"
'Heed those warnings'
Saturday night's flooding not only impacted areas around the pump station, but the whole city including Downtown and the underpass, which was filled with several feet of water, according to the city.
Keller said parts of the Albuquerque Police Department and City Hall were flooded, though it was mostly "aesthetic damage." The Albuquerque Convention Center received about 6 inches of ranch by the dock area. Up to 20,000 residents were without electricity for hours.
Albuquerque Fire Chief Emily Jaramillo said Fire Rescue responded to 142 calls between 8 p.m. and midnight. In a 24-hour period, AFR typically receives about 260 calls, she said.
Of the 142 calls, 10 were to help people stranded while others were to set up patrols along arroyos to keep people safe, Montoya said.
The city's Department of Municipal Development used several trucks to pump out storm drains, push water into sewers and channel water, Montoya said.
Anderson said there will be chances for rain and thunderstorms in the afternoons and evenings through Wednesday. But "we shouldn't expect much on the Fourth of July."
Keller said if another storm were to come, the pump stations "should be fully functional."
"That's a huge difference (from Saturday night)," he said.
Jaramillo said if people receive flash flood alerts, instead of driving around, they should "heed those warnings" and "shelter in place."
"Once the rain subsides then it's safe to get out."
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