The Willow Glen Resident

Plan seeks to protect Valley from theoretical flooding

Project will impact Willow Glen Way, Lincoln Avenue

By Cecily Barnes

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Santa Clara Valley Water District have proposed a $141 million flood-control project to widen banks along the Guadalupe River, erect flood walls, build bridges and utilize bypass channels. These efforts, water district officials say, will prevent homes and land along the Guadalupe River, including areas of Willow Glen Way and Lincoln Avenue, from being destroyed by a so-called 100-year flood.

At an Oct. 9 meeting at the Willow Glen Educational Park, water district officials and officers from the corps--the arm of the federal government that deals with flood prevention--will explain the plan to residents, solicit feedback and answer questions about the plan's impacts.

"They are looking specifically in the meetings for public comment," water district spokeswoman Elizabeth Emmit said. "Does the public feel there is enough environmental mitigation? Are the plans in place, and is the construction going to adversely affect anyone? Anything the public would like to comment on in the plan is fair game."

The proposed Bypass Channel Plan would divert enough water out of the Guadalupe to protect property in the flood plain from the "100-year flood," defined by the water district as a flood of such extremity that there is just a 1 percent chance it will occur each year. Such a flood would destroy approximately 7,200 homes, six public schools and hundreds of acres of agricultural and industrial property, according to a project report generated by the water district.

The project will run along the Guadalupe River between the Southern Pacific Railroad and Blossom Hill Road and will require demolition of 88 houses. Sixty-four of the homes have already been purchased by the water district, sold by their owners on a voluntary basis at full-market price, confirmed Vince Lico, supervising property manager for the water district.

After the corps and the water district gather public input at the upcoming public hearing, a revised proposal will be submitted to the U.S. Congress for approval. If the project is accepted, it will be eligible to receive up to $60 million in federal funding assistance.

The water district would be left to pay more than $80 million, but it would be entitled to a 70 percent reimbursement from the state. The approval and funding processes could take up to three years.

"Don't expect the bulldozers to come out at the end of October," said Randy Tally, supervising engineer for the water district's flood control management center. "These things take a long time."

The current plan is structured to protect 6,600 homes and businesses from the hypothetical flood. Though some vegetation will be demolished in the process, district officials intend to mitigate the effects by creating 30 acres of wetland, riparian and urban forests and shaded river habitats.

Flood-control projects in the past have lined creeks and riverbeds with panels of concrete, bulldozing whatever natural habitats happened to be in the way. Water district officials pledge that this project will be different.

"A goal along the entire proposed project [area] is preserving the riparian habitat and vegetation," Emmit said. "They do that by using features of the channel that are already in place. They also go through and do mitigations afterward. For example, if they have to remove vegetation, they will go in and plant trees."

In some areas, the plan calls for removal of creekside vegetation, including trees and shrubs along a strip from Willow Glen Way to Curtner Avenue. To compensate for this, the water district plans to replant trees along the lower bank where Canoas Creek outfalls to Capitol Expressway.

Water district officials assure that the environmental benefits of the flood-control project far outweigh the negative impacts. While securing the riverbanks, work crews will repair eroded areas and build more access roads. Also, the estimated $280 million damage and ensuing environmental destruction that would be caused by a 100-year flood would be prevented.

The public hearing will be held Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Willow Glen Educational Park, 2001 Cottle Ave. The hearing is intended to present the results of the study and to take public comment on the report and the plan. Copies of the report are available at the Willow Glen Library.

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