PAJARO—The Pajaro River came within a few inches of overtopping its banks—and overwhelming the structures put in place to stop flooding—during the series of atmospheric rivers that swept through the region in the early part of January.
That is according to Monterey County Water Resources Agency interim General Manager Lew Bauman, who gave a presentation to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors Tuesday about efforts during the rains to stop waters from reaching Pajaro and the communities of North Monterey County.
Joining the presentation were Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency (PRFMA) CEO Mark Strudley and Mark Foxworthy, a water resources associate engineer.
Of particular concern during the storm, Strudley said, was the Pajaro River, which has a watershed that spreads out over four counties and covers more than 1,200 square miles and has posed a danger to both Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
PRFMA is a multi-jurisdictional agency made up of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, in addition to the Monterey County Water Resources Agency and the Santa Cruz County Flood Control Agency for Zone 7. It will take over maintenance of the levee system this year, Strudley said, and will be tasked with establishing flood control measures along the river.
Part of those efforts will include the upcoming $400 million upgrade by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a project that late last year became fully funded after years of wrangling by elected leaders on the local, state and federal levels.
Once complete, the new levee system will give protection for a 100-year flood event, Strudley said. By comparison, the 1995 flood was a 20-year event, which was much larger than the floods this year. The flood that damaged Pajaro in 1998 was a 28.5-year event, Strudley said.
The current levee provides protection from an eight-year flood.
The work will begin around 2025 and include Salsipuedes and Corralitos creeks. The stretch between Pajaro and Murphy’s Crossing will commence in 2027, Strudley said.
County officials said that preparations in advance of the storms helped the County avoid what could have been serious flooding. This included installing 3,000 feet of muscle wall, strengthening roads and banks along the levee and constantly monitoring the river’s level.
“From top to bottom, what an amazing response to the floods, not only on Pajaro but through Salinas,” Bauman said. “In monitoring of our reservoirs, these folks were up all night long for days on end responding to this. Extremely professional, extremely capable, and they ensured the health and safety of our residents.”
Supervisor Luis Alejo said that the work was “a testament of why we were able to avoid a worst-case scenario for the community of Pajaro.”
Alejo asked why Pajaro residents remained evacuated for days after the rains stopped, a fact that several residents questioned even as they watched evacuated residents return to their homes in other communities.
Bauman explained that the water levels indicated by automatic monitors were higher than could be observed, leading officials to keep the community evacuated.
“The response that your County teams had and that the Sheriff had was most appropriate and those evacuations were appropriate to make sure that residents were safe,” he said.
He added that future monitoring efforts should include a system that more closely models the observed field results.
Strudley said that work over the next few years will include “extreme maintenance programs” such as vegetation removal from river and creek channels. Such efforts over the preceding years, he said, likely stopped “significant overtopping.”
the sooner the flood control project is built, the better. mother nature is raging due to global climate change, and will do this again. let us remind our members of Congress that we need to see the Army Corps of Engineers at work !
It’s sad that all of the berry fields have been contaminated with toxic flood waters including high levels of Chromium 6
Where did you read that this actaully happened? Share your source please.