Monterey County Public Works crews were on standby Wednesday in areas vulnerable to flooding around the Carmel Lagoon, as rainy weather pushed into the Bay Area.

Crews stationed pumping equipment at the ends of Monte Verde Street, Camino De Real and River Park Place, and were prepared to pump surface water from the neighborhood. Heavy equipment was also positioned nearby to manage the height of protective sandbars.

These areas, adjacent to the Carmel Lagoon, experienced flooding in 2021 and earlier this year during atmospheric river rains, when high waters from the Carmel River overflowed into the lagoon. It is a protected wetland that drains slowly into the sea.

Crews continued to monitor the water levels and were digging a pilot channel to the sea to prevent water rising above the current level of 12.6 feet. Residents who see flooding are advised to call public works at 831-755-4925.

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.