Story reported by Michelle Pulido
SALINAS, Calif. - When storm season arrives, the city of Salinas often raises storm grates across the city to prevent street flooding and clogged pipes. This seasonal, normal practice of raising storm grates in Salinas is now raising concerns for the peninsula's environment.
"Basically Salinas is putting its problems onto other people," said environmentalist, Steve Shimek.
The city said it doesn't have an option but to lift the grates to make sure the streets don't flood and pipes don't get clogged.
Shimek from the non-profit organization 'The Otter Project', this is all bad news.
"Those storm grates go straight out into Elkhorn slough and the ocean.We actually have pictures of literally a sea otter pup getting caught in a plastic bag and it's mother trying to frantically get it out," said Shimek.
Salinas public works officials said they are reviewing the concern and are seeing if there is anything they can do to prevent the flooding and clogging, but Shimek has a better plan for them.
"They can leave the storm grates in place, and that's a simple thing, sweep their streets so that the trash gets picked up before it gets into the clogging the storm grates," said Shimek.
Regional water board officials say there is little they can do to prevent these practices... but Shimek is ready to put a stop to all this
"I think the next move is to wretch it up the next time they ask for a storm after permit and talk about how they complied with the last one," said Shimek.
