OCEANSIDE -- Industry Street business owners met with representatives of the city and North County Transit District on Thursday morning to explore ways of keeping nearby Loma Alta Creek from flooding their businesses.

The meeting, and another planned for this morning with the transit district executive director and the city manager, come as the businesses brace themselves for three storms that are expected to drop at least 2 inches of rain in the coastal areas over the next three days.

The projected rainfall is as much or more than fell during a late November storm that left some businesses, including Weiland Siding, Doors and Windows Inc., standing in more than a foot of water. Business owners say Sprinter construction and other factors caused the mess.

"There doesn't seem to be any one solution, and unfortunately none of the solutions will help us in time for these storms," said Steve Donner, Weiland's general manager, after the Thursday morning meeting. "This weekend we're just kind of hunkering down."

Donner said after a weekend of cleanup in November, his company installed barricades to protect the property from future flooding.

"But if it backs up again like it did last time, they won't be enough," he said.

A variety of factors have caused the flooding, city and transit district officials have said:

- Two city runoff basins, one at El Camino Real and a second at Rancho del Oro Road, that were to be built in conjunction with the Sprinter light-rail line have not been constructed. The basins would hold and slowly release heavy volumes of rainwater so that flooding would not occur downstream.

- Sprinter tracks that have been built in the last few years are 5 feet above the creek's flood plain, causing water that normally would have spread to the south to funnel onto businesses in the north.

- Vegetation and dirt are clogging the creek channel.

City engineer Scott Smith said that a walk of the creek channel Thursday showed some areas could be cleared of vegetation and soil to improve the flow. He said that the city is working with a transit district biologist to analyze the vegetation before going to the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Fish and Game for permits necessary to clear the area.

Smith said the city is offering sandbags to business owners to stave off flooding from this weekend's storms, but added that it was unlikely that any work would be done in the creek before the rain starts.

With regard to the runoff basins, Smith said that the transit district was expecting the basins to built at the same time the Sprinter tracks were finished but that complications with a wall built by the transit district were holding up construction.

He said the city anticipates the overflow basins being completed at the end of this year.

Tom Kelleher, a spokesman for the transit district, said the only long-term solution to the flooding is to get the detention basins built.

"I believe the city wants to have an engineer certify that the wall is sound enough for them to start the basin work," said Kelleher. "We're very happy with all the work that's been done, but if the city wants to have an engineer certify the wall, I have no problem with that."

Contact staff writer Marga Kellogg at (760) 901-4067 or mkellogg@nctimes.com.