STOCKTON, Calif. — With rain on the way this weekend, concern is growing for some people in Stockton's Country Club neighborhood living along a levee still damaged in last winter’s storms.
The flowing water along the Calaveras River looks calm from the top of the River Drive levee, but erosion lurks just below.
"With the floods back in January, there’s some definite erosion damage that has occurred," said Patti Brennan, who has lived along the river for eight years. "Locals have taken photos of it."
When storm after storm slammed Northern California last winter, the south side of the levee, where Brennan lives, took more than a hit.
"I’m already taking pictures to document," said Brennan. "I documented in January because I was getting ready to evacuate with me and the dogs.”
Luckily, she never had to evacuate, but video from the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office Boating Unit shows some of the damage remains months later.
The remaining damage is eroding Brennan's trust the levee will protect her and her neighbors' homes this winter.
"Now that we know that there’s damage, it’s not going to be any better," said Brennan. "I remember when the levee broke back in the 70s when I was a teenager and the time it took to be repaired and the types of damages."
The leftover winter damage caught the attention of county officials who met with community members Thursday night.
"It is a huge priority. A lot of residents in my district are at stake of getting flooded," said County Supervisor Miguel Villapudua. "There's a lot of different agencies we want to work with to resolve this issue and find a solution to make things better for the residents."
County officials say they are now assessing the extent of the damage, figuring out which agency is responsible for repairs and looking for funding.
Supervisor Villapudua and others plan to board a boat next week to assess the damage firsthand.
"We’re aware of the levees across the county, not just the ones the county maintains, and are in conversations and partnerships with those reclamation districts to make sure they have everything they need," said the county's Interim Director of Emergency Operations, Tiffany Cacho. "Right now there are no major repairs scheduled. (Crews) are going to continue monitoring daily, weekly in some of those areas if we start getting into some of that wet weather."
Cacho says the reclamation districts that oversee the levees can decide to patrol them multiple times a day depending on how severe the weather gets.
Brennan says she’ll keep asking questions and carefully watching the river until the damage is assessed and those repairs are made.
"We’ve had promises that steps are going to be taken," said Brennan. "We want to know how it’s going to be repaired, when it’s going to be repaired. The rains are coming.”
Watch more from ABC10: California Storm Watch: Tracking rain & snow, weather timeline, holiday travel impact
