That was some storm!

On Friday afternoon, July 24, 2026, a major storm system blew through Albuquerque, dropping about 1.5" of water in a short time. This caused the eastern part of Copper Avenue (towards Eubank) to become "Copper River", as the rainwater backed up. It overflowed even some stretches of the road and of the sidewalks (not counting the "curb cuts" at the corners and driveways)!

​The following pictures were taken at the corner of Altez & Copper.

There are storm drains on the western end of Copper by Wyoming, but SLANA will be looking into what can be done to alleviate the flooding. Unfortunately, it looks like all measures are quite expensive: either extending the storm drain system to the east, or installing Green Stormwater Infrastructure, such as was done in District 7. Both would require some measure of disruption to Copper Avenue (and likely the residents who live adjacent to it), but the GSI appears to be less disruptive. Extending the storm drain system will likely require massive disruption of Copper Avenue, including fully repaving it.

SLANA will be in talks with our city representatives to discuss options and see what is feasible. As always, your input is welcomed and valuable! You can leave a comment on this post, Contact Us, come to our meetings, or contact your city representatives with ideas. If you have photos of the flooding in your area, that may be helpful to let the city know the extent of affected area.