The City of San Diego has planned storm-drain work on Van Dyke Place and Avenue in Kensington. The planned drainage will carry stormwater to an adjacent urban canyon.
A Model Already Tested in Mission Hills
Kensington isn't the first neighborhood to get this treatment. A similar project in Mission Hills, at Fort Stockton Drive and Allen Road, began construction in November 2024 and wrapped up in late April 2025, according to Inside San Diego. That job installed 335 feet of new reinforced concrete pipe and 15 new storm drains while tearing out 195 feet of deteriorated corrugated metal pipe and three aging drain structures, and it also included replacement of two ADA ramps.
The Mission Hills project was performed entirely by City staff rather than outside contractors, the outlet reported. City officials said at the time that the upgrades would enhance flood resilience for the community over the long term.
Funding and Emergency Repairs
Planned storm-drain work is slated for Van Dyke Place and Avenue in Kensington.
The Kensington work is part of a much larger financing push. In 2022, the city won a federal WIFIA loan worth $733 million to help fund water infrastructure upgrades, according to the same Inside San Diego report on the Mission Hills project. A 2022 release from the City of San Diego said the federal loan program could cover 49 percent of up to $733 million in water infrastructure project costs.
That federal backing has arrived as the city has faced a steady drumbeat of storm-related emergencies. San Diego spent about $45 million on 23 stormwater-related emergency repairs in 2024, according to inewsource, though the outlet separately reported the city spent $52 million overall on emergency infrastructure repairs that year, including work tied to collapsed storm drains, water channels and sinkholes. Some of those 2024 emergency projects were a direct result of heavy rains and flooding that hit several San Diego communities that January, per the same reporting.
Looking ahead, about $88 million of the city's 2025 budget was earmarked for stormwater projects, including $79 million set aside for emergency work, inewsource reported.
