Deluge hits Rio Rancho

Downpour damages almost 40 miles of Rio Rancho’s roads

Susan Lang has lived on a hill overlooking Rio Rancho for 17 years — but she has never seen it like this.

A heavy monsoon Thursday night brought a flood of mud and water, 6 inches high, to Lang’s front door.

“I’m going to be cleaning for a while,” she said.

Her garage had 4 inches of standing water that has turned into slick mud.

Lang wasn’t the only one in the city adversely affected by recent rainfall — almost 40 miles of Rio Rancho’s roads will need repair after being washed out, eroded or covered in sediment.

Mayor Gregg Hull said Streets and Rights-Of-Way Department crews are still assessing the situation.

“This is unusual,” Hull said. “It was a heavy rainfall and brought a large volume of water through the city.”

Communication and Information manager Annemarie Garcia said clearing efforts will continue for the next seven to 10 days.

“Crews are working as hard as

they can and as quickly as possible to get to impacted areas,” she said.

SROW crews have already been working to remove large amounts of sediment from various areas in Rio Rancho, Garcia said. They are prioritizing road repair based on damages and how highly traveled they are.

When Lang built her home, she was prioritizing an eastern view of the moon rising over the Sandias and didn’t consider the steep hill of dry dirt rising to the west.

After years of monsoon seasons, she has tried to rechannel the water, but the mud seems to flow right onto her property.

“We were just begging for rain last week,” Lang said. “That will teach ya.”

On Friday, mud remained all around her house, higher than a foot in some places.

It has already claimed a pair of Lang’s shoes, while a visitor’s car was stuck mere feet from the driveway and had to be pulled out.

Bare footprints crisscrossing the driveway and all over the yard are proof that Lang knows how to make the best of a bad situation.

“Walking in the mud was so much fun,” she said. “I love having it squish between my toes.”

Despite the cleanup ahead and seasons to come, Lang doesn’t mind the rain and is already dreading the dry season.

“The rain was good,” she said. “We need the moisture.”

ROBERTO E. ROSALES/JOURNAL Susan Lang helps dig out a car stuck in mud near Cow Court and Alberta Avenue in Rio Rancho. In the 17 years Lang has lived in the area, Thursday night’s downpour was the worst she has experienced.

ROBERTO E. ROSALES/JOURNAL Sculptures in a front yard are still partially submerged in leftover standing water from Thursday night’s downpour in Rio Rancho.