Some businesses in Downtown San Marcos are dealing with flooding due to recent rains. Kristan Alvarez, owner of KnD's, a boutique, has been forced to put sandbags in front of her business.[/caption]

Drainage work on University Drive and Guadalupe Street aimed at mitigating flooding downtown will begin in mid-October and will take 30 days to complete, city officials said.

City Council approved a $746,205 contract for services at a meeting Oct. 5. Construction on the project is expected to start the week of Oct. 19, officials said.

Laurie Moyer, director of engineering and capital improvements for the city, said the project will take 30 days, during which time the entire portion of University Drive from LBJ to Guadalupe will be closed.

“This will provide that drainage benefit that the community was looking for that the city felt it did not have in its budget in the first phase,” Moyer said.

The issue of downtown drainage became a topic of conversation after businesses on North LBJ Drive were flooded during heavy downpours this spring.

City staff believe the project will help channel rainwater into the city’s drainage system upstream of LBJ, preventing more flooding.

The work approved under the contract Oct. 5 was originally included in construction plans downtown, but the city deferred parts of the drainage system because of budgetary concerns at the time, Moyer said.

San Marcos resident Ted Breihan said he believes the drain inlets downtown were not built properly. He said he has seen water run past the inlets near Chipotle on University Drive.

“The street work that was done downtown in this project, the drainage system, it’s a joke,” Breihan said. “It’s a big joke. The drain inlets, they’re there, but the water runs right past them.”