OCEAN BEACH (CBS 8) - A weekend cleanup in Ocean Beach has taken on a new meaning after the torrential rains caused major flooding in the community, leaving homes and garages a wet and muddy mess.
Clean Ups for Change had already planned to meet Saturday to help clean up the community, but with the recent storms the task has become bigger.
When El Niño hit this week Ocean Beach went under water, but now that the water has receded the film of mud that covers the streets needs to be cleaned up.
"People who had trash cans sitting in the alleys could see them rise up and floating down, dumping trash all over the place. It really became a mess," said Jon Carr, a board member for Clean Ups for Change.
The non-profit is hosting a clean up in Ocean Beach Saturday morning, and teams will be deployed to different streets and alley ways hit hard by the storm.
"It's massive. There are lots of cigarette butts. With trash cans getting flipped over in the storm, you can imagine" said Carr.
Volunteers are hoping Ocean Beach residents will try to prevent the spread of pollution by moving their trash up to higher ground before the next storm hits.
"We always think of our valuables like our Lamborghini or anything else getting those off the ground level but it would be nice to have the trash out there so it doesn't create a mess," said Carr.
The group hopes their clean up efforts will encourage other communities to host a litter clean up day.