Every year, hundreds of households and businesses in Morgan Hill and San Martin are vulnerable to storm-induced flooding from Llagas Creek.
According to the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Llagas Creek has flooded during four of the last 11 years. The SCVWD is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Morgan Hill on a flood protection project to resolve this problem. In its April 10th public workshop at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center, the SCVWD reported on the progress of the $137 million Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project and addressed questions from the community.
The project plan involves approximately 13 miles of Upper Llagas Creek from Buena Vista Avenue upstream to Llagas Road and is intended to provide flood protection to homes, businesses and agricultural land in areas along the East Little Llagas Creek, West Little Llagas Creek and Llagas Creek in San Martin and Morgan Hill. Along with flood protection, project goals include protection of agricultural land as well as preservation and enhancement of creekside habitat for fish and wildlife.
Upon completion, the Upper Llagas Flood Protection Project will provide an increased level of flood protection including: 100-year protection for Reaches 7 and 8; 10-year protection for Reach 14; and no induced flooding due to upstream creek modifications in Reaches 4, 5 and 6.
The April meeting update included a proposed project element at Lake Silveira. The lake is located within a 50-acre parcel west of Monterey Road between California and West Middle Avenues in Morgan Hill. The water district is working with the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department, which currently owns the Lake Silveira property; and with the City of Morgan Hill, which owns an easement on the property. The lake, which was originally a gravel quarry flooded by a previous private owner, was identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the best site within the project area to mitigate project impacts on natural resources.
The SCVWD is the local sponsor responsible for acquisition of the lands required for the project. A 2007 Congressional action designated the Corps as the lead federal agency responsible for the planning, design and construction of the project; however, federal government funding for the project has not yet been received.
The water district has partnered with the City of Morgan Hill based on mutual interest in keeping the project moving forward on schedule despite federal government funding delays. According to SCVWD Engineering Unit Manager Stephen M. Ferranti, the project is divided into two phases.
“Phase One and Phase Two are on track to complete required design and environmental documents by the spring of 2014,” he explained. “Phase One is fully funded and would begin construction for Reaches 4, 7a, and mitigation at Lake Silveira, starting in the summer of 2014 and completing all flood protection and improvements by December of 2016. Phase Two is slated to begin in the summer of 2016 and extend to December of 2019 to complete flood protection and improvements for Reaches 5, 6, 7b, 8, and 14, if additional funding of approximately $40 million is found from grants, the Corps, and/or other possible funding sources.”
The SCVWD and the City of Morgan Hill have maintained communication with the Corps as well as a variety of Congressional and Senate members who represent the interests of Santa Clara County on Capitol Hill, working to keep the need for flood protection with support from federal funding in front of all stakeholders.
“The water district has submitted a proposal to the Corps whereby we contribute funds to the Corps to maintain their involvement and review of the Flood Protection Project Planning and Design documents that we are preparing (with up to $3 million in City of Morgan Hill funding),” said Ferranti. “If Corps HQ approves the use of local sponsor funds, then we will work with them to execute a Contributed Funds Memorandum of Agreement that defines our joint roles and responsibilities. They will review and analyze the project, reach by reach, to determine what if any federal participation/funding (federal cost share) will be allocated for the project.”
Phase One project costs are being funded in part with $17 million from the water district’s countywide “Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection” parcel tax passed by voters in November 2000. Those funds have been augmented by an additional $7 million from the water district and $3 million from the City of Morgan Hill.
Phase Two project costs will be funded in part with $39.1 million from the “Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program” passed by 74 percent of voters in November 2012, which extends the parcel tax from its original end date of 2016 until 2028. Those funds will go to purchase of right of way and cover a portion of construction costs, but the project will require roughly another $40 million to complete Phase Two construction.
“The Corps is optimistic about the funding, but they have many other projects under consideration that have a higher benefit-to-cost ratio and therefore will be given higher priority,” said Ferranti. “Federal budget-tightening and disasters like Hurricane Sandy have made federal funds difficult to come by. Meanwhile, the water district will continue to pursue this and other opportunities for funding.”
During the question and answer portion of the meeting, several residents asked for clarification of a “subventions program” mentioned by Ferranti. In its role of acquiring property in the Flood Protection project area, Ferranti explained that the water district can submit claims to the Flood Control Subventions Program of the California Department of Water Resources. The program provides financial assistance to local agencies cooperating in the construction of federally authorized flood control projects. The water district pays the costs of rights of way and relocations within the project area, and is later reimbursed through the state subventions program.
“We are moving forward to acquire 35 parcels in the Phase 1 project area as this needs to be completed before construction begins,” said Ferranti. “We’ve been turning in our claims for parcels previously acquired, and getting reimbursed. Reimbursed funds can then be returned to the project to pay for other project costs, such as construction.”
One local resident asked why the project has been 13 years in the planning stage and how much has been spent so far.
“It’s primarily due to lack of funding. The project has received $3.015 million from the federal government since 1999, and that was used for the hydrology study and other required studies. For example, the original environmental impact report (EIR) was done 31 years ago, so it must be redone to bring it to modern standards. There’s been a lot of staff time spent researching and assessing 13 miles of creek channel, and we’re now at 65 percent of design completion. Since 2010 when the water district and the city of Morgan Hill decided to move forward, we’ve committed $7 million and $3 million, respectively on the project’s design and preparation of the EIR.”
Another resident asked if the water district might be overreaching with this project, doing more than flood control and possibly competing with other agencies.
“The water district does not have jurisdiction over other agencies,” said Ferranti. “If the City of Morgan Hill or the County Parks and Recreation Department want to develop a project area for community recreation on water district property, the agency responsible for the recreation will enter into a joint trails agreement with the water district, establishing the separate roles and responsibilities. The water district does not duplicate what they do or supervise community park areas.”
Ferranti added that “flood control and mitigation are tied together. When you impact a water channel, widening it or even removing sediment, you change the conditions of the channel. The various resource agencies, such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Fish and Game have requirements for mitigation, such as replacing trees that have to be removed during construction. Sometimes we are required to replace resources at a 4:1 ratio.”
Residents also asked for further clarification of the water district’s references to mitigation work in the project.
“As suggested by agency stakeholders, Lake Silveira is our mitigation element for this project,” said Ferranti. “We must enhance this site while restoring the natural channel of the creek around the lake.”
“With mitigation we are offsetting the impact that channel construction work may have on the natural environment and habitat. We work to minimize environmental impacts and reduce the need and costs for mitigation. Now if we remove chunks of concrete or an old car from a water channel, we may get credit for this work from the Environmental Resource Agencies. When we remove an invasive species like the Himalayan Blackberry, or we save a heritage oak, we hope to get mitigation credit for it. We look for every opportunity to avoid impacts and establish or enhance on-site vegetation and habitat.”
Regarding restoration of a remnant section of Llagas Creek that runs around the northern edge of Lake Silveira, another resident said, “There’s a lot of water in Llagas creek. How will you ensure proper flow and volume at this site?”
“This is the question of the night,” said Ferranti. “It’s a hydrology question. We’ve gone out on the lake to do telemetry measurements with sonar. We can reduce the amount of water that goes into the lake, and will build an inlet structure to provide balanced diversion of water flow between lake and creek. If the lake heats up, it has an impact on the downstream creek environment. We must keep the life of the lake and the restored creek channel healthy by controlling the level and flow of both. We can vary the depth of the lake, construct several islands, and put vegetation on the islands to support nesting birds, for example.”
Recalling a water district public meeting he attended in 2012, a resident remarked that district representatives had been “fairly confident in the involvement of the Army Corps of Engineers then, but not now,” and asked if Ferranti would re-characterize the likelihood of that agreement.
“The Corps has told the water district officials that if a Contributed Funds Memorandum of Agreement (MAO) is signed, they can move forward with their analysis/evaluation to determine what the federal cost share will be for the project,” Ferranti responded. “The Corps believes the MOA can be signed by fall or by the end of the year.”
SVCD Director Dennis Kennedy echoed Ferranti’s closing comment that, “more progress has been made on this project in the last three years than in the 20 to 25 years before that.”
Kennedy commended the water district for its hard work and professionalism, and also thanked residents who voted for Measure B, which he said “has provided funding to help make this project a reality”.
“With state subventions we may have enough to do the project with local funding,” said Kennedy. “We are working with members of Congress: Zoe Lofgren, Sam Farr and Jeff Denham; and with the Senate through Mike Honda, to get support at the federal levels. We have a delegation going to congress in May and again in November to seek federal support, which is critical because we need the support of the Army Corps of Engineers.”
The SCVWD plans to hold another public meeting in the fall of 2013 when it will update the community on its completed Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Report required by the federal government and the State of California, respectively.
Local residents seeking more information about this project can contact Stephen Ferranti, Santa Clara Valley Water District Engineering Unit Manager, at (408) 630-2677, or visit the water district’s website, www.valleywater.org and use the “Access Valley Water” customer request and information system in order to post questions and comments to the district staff.
