Posted on August 23, 2016
By Adrian Rodriguez, marinij.com
Officials have determined that restoring portions of the Corte Madera Creek from concrete to natural channels is not an option for a flood control project improving flows through Ross and Kentfield.
Instead, officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the county’s public works department are considering a combination of moves such as installing floodwalls, raising the creek elevation and creating berms and levies.
The Corte Madera Creek Unit 4 project update will be at 6 p.m. Monday at the Ross School Gymnasium at 9 Lagunitas Road.
“We are really in the initial phase,” said Tony Williams, a county civil engineer. “What has happened so far is we’ve come up with some alternatives for the project and the beginning of the environmental review process. But really the purpose of the meeting is to report on the alternatives that have been developed and to describe the ones that will not continue forward.”
The county has about $500,000 budgeted for the project study that launched in January. The study is expected to continue for at least two more years. The Army Corps estimates the three-year study will cost about $3 million.
Restoring the natural creek was ruled out because removing the concrete would be too costly. Plus, there are too many properties built up against the creek banks leaving little real estate to widen and wind the channel the way it would need to be for a natural passage.
Kelly Janes, project planner with the Army Corps, said the concrete channel actually works well.
“The concrete is basically like a firehose, very straight and clear of any obstruction,” she said. “It allows the water to move really fast, which lowers the flood elevation.”
Janes said officials are considering different measures that would fit within the context of each specific portion of the channel. The mix of projects would allow engineers to adapt to the land and the needs of the neighbors.
“We are hoping to get public input on this,” Janes said. “The creek runs through backyards, and people are concerned with how it will look and what will happen.”
The Corte Madera Creek flood control project launched as a six-unit program in 1969. It was on Unit 4 when improvements were halted amid resident protest, some of whom faced bulldozers to block plans for a concrete channel running six miles along the valley through Fairfax.
The project has been in limbo ever since, with proposals periodically reviewed, debated and shelved. Community sentiment changed over the years, and the Ross Valley’s 2007 flood fee, which raises about $2.2 million a year, provides local matching funds required by the corps for improvements.
A 3 percent increase to this fee was approved in July, which county engineers said could provide an estimated $85,000 in additional revenues.
The tax provides the county matching funds to leverage state and local grants. The goal was to raise more than $40 million over a 20-year period.
So far, the fee has raised about half of that and the county has been awarded about $29 million in grants, and about $14 million has been spent on projects.
County engineers estimate that there is $110 million worth of projects.
Janes said construction could start within four to six years.
The preliminary cost for the project is $14 million, but Williams hopes through community meetings, they can refine costs more quickly.
Project information is at bit.ly/1Q28wJL.
Source: marinij.com
