GUERNEVILLE -- At a county Refuse Transfer Station in Guerneville, truck after truck unloads debris. More than 500 tons were dumped this past weekend alone. One week after an atmospheric river brought historic flooding to Sonoma County, no one is quite sure what to do with all the wreckage.
Old couches, appliances, bookshelves and toys are piling up everywhere you look. They're part of the roughly $155 million in damages across the county caused by the rising waters.
About 100 tons a day arrive at the transfer station, only one of several in Sonoma County. Much of it from the flood-damaged properties.
But that’s only a fraction of the problem.
Mark Morris and his wife were unloading a flatbed truck full of soaked wall board.
“[We’re> cleaning up a flooded house, after 20 years of living at the river,” he said. “We’re doing this because we don’t want to leave trash visible like this.” He said they’re trying to be eco-friendly by not leaving it on the street.
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But much of the debris is piling up in large mounds all over the recently flooded area.
Federal rules place a burden on property owners that may slow down the cleanup. FEMA requires owners to remove debris from their land to collection stations if the county wants to be reimbursed for cleanup assistance money. Morris said people need to take responsibility for their trash.
But not everyone has the resources or the wherewithal to take on that job—whether it’s lack of money or lack of a way to transport it.
One resident, told KCBS Radio that he was lucky to have a truck, but reflected that most others probably don’t know what to do with the mess. “A lot of them don’t have trucks, so what do they do?” he wondered.