I appreciate the difficulty this flooding puts you in, but I'm not sure I agree with the overall tone you are adopting here. 29 Palms, like all of the Mojave, experiences major periodic flash flooding.
Drainage culverts, storm drains, and other civil infrastructure should, I agree, be used to address problem areas. Private land, if undeveloped, is very unlikely to be the problem, since the very fact of it being undeveloped actually improves infiltration and reduces water runoff. Of course, the nature of the desert geology makes it so water can pour off of impervious soils in sheets. Decomposed granite, especially if compacted (roads, walking paths, impacted areas) will not absorb water, but act almost like concrete, sloughing it off. However, I can see how unnatural barriers like large walls, especially if they are not built with drainage, can exacerbate the problem.
You are right to go to the city seeking redress, especially if there isn't proper infrastructure in public rights of way to address the flooding. But understand any civil engineering project is a huge endeavor that costs huge amounts of money and make require years of planning. My advice is to be relentless in your lobbying, but patient. Organize your neighbors and continue to make a stink, but only resort to legal action as a last resort!
I appreciate the difficulty this flooding puts you in, but I'm not sure I agree with the overall tone you are adopting here. 29 Palms, like all of the Mojave, experiences major periodic flash flooding.
Drainage culverts, storm drains, and other civil infrastructure should, I agree, be used to address problem areas. Private land, if undeveloped, is very unlikely to be the problem, since the very fact of it being undeveloped actually improves infiltration and reduces water runoff. Of course, the nature of the desert geology makes it so water can pour off of impervious soils in sheets. Decomposed granite, especially if compacted (roads, walking paths, impacted areas) will not absorb water, but act almost like concrete, sloughing it off. However, I can see how unnatural barriers like large walls, especially if they are not built with drainage, can exacerbate the problem.
You are right to go to the city seeking redress, especially if there isn't proper infrastructure in public rights of way to address the flooding. But understand any civil engineering project is a huge endeavor that costs huge amounts of money and make require years of planning. My advice is to be relentless in your lobbying, but patient. Organize your neighbors and continue to make a stink, but only resort to legal action as a last resort!