A little-known, largely neglected eight-acre lake that sits on public property in south Morgan Hill is likely to be restored to its natural state and developed with low-impact recreational uses as part of the Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection project.
Even though local agencies sponsoring the project are still having a difficult time getting millions in federal money needed to complete the project, the Santa Clara Valley Water District and City of Morgan Hill have been trudging away at design efforts, using their own funds to reach initial milestones within the multi-phased flood protection project.
The flood control project’s overall design is about 65 percent complete, and includes a proposal to use the 50-acre parcel that houses Silveira Lake as the “off-site” wildlife mitigation area for the project, according to SCVWD Engineering Unit Manager Stephen Ferranti.
“We’re going to impact the channel when we widen it for about a 13-mile stretch of the creek, Ferranti said. “The resource agencies are going to want us to plant and provide as much riparian corridor, as much natural vegetation and species habitat (as we remove). There are not enough opportunities in the footprint (of the creek project) – you can’t just take out a tree and replace it with one tree.”
A riparian corridor is the creekside or riverside zone of vegetation that provides natural protection and nourishment for species in or near the water.
Therefore the SCVWD has proposed using the Silveira Lake parcel, currently owned by Santa Clara County, to restore and preserve natural habitats and wildlife. SCVWD staff held a public workshop about the Silveira Lake proposal, as well as the current state of the project as a whole, at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center Wednesday night.
Authorities think construction can start on the flood control project by summer 2014. Construction would likely continue until at least 2016.
Local agencies have stepped up recently to reduce their dependence on the U.S. Congress for the project, and local authorities are hopeful that with a few more trips to Washington, D.C., they will secure the $15 to $20 million in federal funds they need to complete the flood control effort.
One idea already suggested by residents in the area of the lake is to build an island in the middle of the lake to accommodate nesting birds that inhabit the lake and surrounding property, Ferranti said.
“There’s a lot of predators out there. When the lake gets low, there’s a natural sand bar that the birds fight over. One idea is to build an island or two, where birds can breed and not be worried about predators killing the offspring and the eggs,” Ferranti said.
The Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection project was first proposed in the 1960s. With a total estimated budget of about $130 million, the project would expand the existing creek for about 13 miles from north Morgan Hill to Buena Vista Avenue in San Martin so it can accommodate a 100-year flood in suburban areas, and a five- to 10-year flood in agricultural areas.
During heavy rains, the narrow existing creek has been known to overflow, occasionally resulting in flooding in downtown Morgan Hill.
The Silveira Lake property – hidden on the west side of Monterey Road, between West Middle and California avenues – was identified in 2003 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the best site along the project to mitigate the loss of natural resources. A gravel quarry on the property was flooded by a previous private owner in the late 1970s or early 1980s, creating the artificial lake that sits there now, Ferranti explained. The lake is about eight to 10 feet deep.
Dozens of native species of mammals, fish, birds and plants inhabit land along the creek and within the Silveira Lake property, according to the 2003 USFWS report.
The residential areas surrounding the lake property are in unincorporated rural county areas, and thus are not as densely built out or populated as neighborhoods inside the city limits.
The SCVWD’s mitigation effort will also remove non-native, invasive species along the project, such as a Himalayan Blackberry bushes that are “rampant” along the creek, Ferranti added.
Although the county has owned the property for several years, it has never been developed for recreational use or wildlife preservation, according to local authorities. Public access is currently available but not marked or advertised, and residents occasionally visit the property to hike, walk their dogs or swim.
The City of Morgan Hill cites the property for future trail development in its long-range master planning documents, though such an effort is not yet in the City’s funding sights, according to City Manager Steve Rymer.
Any future development of trails or other recreational facilities on the lake property would be the City’s responsibility, Ferranti said.
The Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project will be funded jointly by the SCVWD, City of Morgan Hill and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the lead sponsor), which is funded by U.S. Congressional action. For decades, the Corps was supposed to fund the majority of the project.
But, tired of waiting for Congress to approve federal funds, the local agencies have taken more responsibility for the project over the last couple of years. Recently, with the voters’ approval of the water district’s Measure B Safe Clean Creeks parcel tax in November 2012, the City and SCVWD have drastically reduced their projected reliance on federal money for the project. Whereas the local agencies previously thought they would need about $80 million from Congress, they now think they only need between $15 million and $20 million to complete the flood control project, according to Morgan Hill City Councilman Rich Constantine.
Also, in 2010 the SCVWD and City of Morgan Hill contributed about $10 million of local funds to begin the design process, which is almost complete, according to Ferranti.
Constantine added that by this time next year the first, downstream phase of the project should be “shovel ready,” with the design complete and private property needed for the project acquired. Ferranti estimated that construction on this first phase is scheduled to start in the summer of 2014.
SCVWD Director Dennis Kennedy, who represents South County on the agency’s board, added that at least two lobbying trips to Washington, D.C. are planned by SCVWD directors and staff in the coming months, in hopes of convincing the state’s elected representatives to push the project along.
“We’re going full speed ahead using local funding,” said Kennedy, who was appointed to the board earlier this year. “A lot of good things are happening, and it seems to be coming together.”
