Study of creek flooding is under way Study of creek flooding is under way (November 23, 2005)

By Marion Softky

Almanac Staff Writer

Seven years after San Francisquito Creek topped its banks and caused some $30 million of damage in Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Palo Alto, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is starting a $7.4 million feasibility study to identify ways of protecting creek-side communities from future flooding.

The contract between the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority and the Army corps was finally signed November 17 in East Palo Alto.

Menlo Park Councilwoman Lee Duboc, vice chair of the creek authority, signed for the local communities; San Francisco district engineer Lt. Colonel Philip T. Feir signed for the corps.

Now comes the hard part.

Over the next four years, the corps will study alternatives for managing future floods, and restore the ecosystem for the creek and its 45-square-mile watershed. The options range from building flood-control reservoirs upstream, to enlarging bridges and rebuilding levees.

"This is going to be fun," said Cynthia D'Agosta, executive director of the creek authority. "Now we get to look at alternatives and pick a project we can afford."

Formed after the El Nino floods of 1998, the creek authority is made up of the major jurisdictions affected: Palo Alto; Menlo Park; East Palo Alto; the Santa Clara County Water District; and the San Mateo County Flood Control District.

The Watershed Council and Stanford University are non-voting members. The towns of Portola Valley and Woodside are also in the watershed, but have not joined.

The creek authority, which has worked for years to study creek problems and negotiate the agreement with the corps, will foot half the bill for the feasibility study. This is estimated to cost $6.65 million to study flooding in the creek, and $817,000 to study downstream flooding by tides.

The Santa Clara and San Mateo county districts have authorized $1.5 million each toward the local share. Menlo Park will put up $32,500 and East Palo Alto $33,000 for the study of tidal flooding. The creek authority will contribute $500,000 in in-kind services for project management.

There's still a long way to go before any bulldozers start work on the creek. The feasibility study is expected to take about four years, Ms. D'Agosta said. This will be followed by a design and engineering phase, which will take another three to four years.

Real estate acquisition, and environmental review, both likely to be expensive and controversial, must also take place before construction starts.

"Things can go wrong," Ms. D'Agosta warned. "There could be problems with real estate or environmental work."

Once the program is approved, Ms. D'Agosta estimates construction will take another 20 years -- "if we get money and public support."

Solutions to creek flooding promise to be both expensive and disruptive. Ms. D'Agosta listed some of the solutions being studied:

** Build reservoirs upstream to hold water, and widen the creek where possible.

** Reconfigure some 10 bridges to increase water flow and improve habitat; some have fish barriers.

** Expand the capacity of the bridge on U.S. 101, a major project. (Flooding at the bridge closed 101 for two days in 1998.)

** Reconfigure levees that protect homes and businesses downstream of U.S. 101 in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

** Build a diversion channel to carry overflow water across the Palo Alto golf course, near the original alignment of San Francisquito Creek.

"This is the exciting part," Ms. D'Agosta said. "This is where the public gets to come to the table and work with us to find an alternative that's acceptable to the community."

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