San Francisquito Creek Early Implementation Project
The local partners in the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (JPA), the cities of East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Palo Alto, the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the San Mateo County Flood Control District, are investigating alternatives for implementation of a local flood management project to be constructed prior to the issuance of a Federal Preferred Plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps.)
The Corps is currently engaged in the Feasibility Phase of a Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration General Investigation on San Francisquito Creek, but received $0 in the Federal budget for 2008 to continue work on the study. The local partners are conducting an alternatives analysis to determine if a viable Early Implementation Project exists that:
1) Provides flood damage reduction elements in the near future
2) Can be built using local funding available
3) Does not increase flooding downstream or to other areas of the community
4) Is likely to be eligible for Section 104 Federal credit
This Early Implementation Project will address the issues of flooding caused by fluvial or tidal influences for a portion of the watershed system only. It is not intended to develop a comprehensive solution to flooding in the community, but rather to provide an expedited level of protection that will work in conjunction with, or assist in the facilitation of, a future comprehensive Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project. The JPA and its partners will continue to seek annual congressional appropriations for the Corps’s General Investigation Study.
A Draft Early Implementation Project Plan is available for public review and input. The Project Management Team is seeking public input on the Draft Plan to ensure that all potential project alternatives have been captured in the preliminary alternatives list. Please submit comments on the Draft Plan or suggested additional alternatives to Kevin Murray at kmurray@menlopark.org by Wednesday, April 9, 2008.
