Representatives from the water district and the Army Corps of Engineers met with area residents on Jan. 28 at Willow Glen's Church on the Hill to get public input on the project. Prior to the meeting, project manager Ted Ibarra told the Willow Glen Resident that the district's goal is to stabilize that stretch of the Upper Guadalupe to create a self-sustaining habitat.

The non-native vegetation currently growing in the area isn't healthy enough to shade the river and keep the water cool for the steelhead trout and Chinook salmon that spawn there, Ibarra said. The soil along the riverbanks contains a layer of clay that makes it difficult for a lot of trees to develop strong root systems, he added.

During the meeting, Army Corps planner Bill Dejager said engineers plan to excavate the stretch of river to reconfigure the water flow so it "meanders" more naturally. In its present state, the man-made reach is too straight and shallow to match natural conditions.

"We want to free the river from its restraints and give it more room to move within certain limits," Dejager said. "It will be a better habitat for fish and all kinds of aquatic life."

The project also involves replacing existing vegetation with trees that will flourish in the new habitat. "The trees that are there now won't make it in the long term," Dejager said. "Healthier trees grow faster and will be more stable in the long term."

Some area residents expressed concern that the waterfowl that call that stretch of river home would be displaced during project construction, scheduled from April to October 2005. Guadalupe watershed manager Dave Chesterman said construction work would be scheduled around nesting and spawning seasons to lessen the impact on animal life.

Brandon Muncy, senior project manager for the Army Corps, acknowledged that a change in the riverbank's habitat would probably lead to a change in the species of animals that live there. The soil along the riverbanks might have to be replaced to reduce the amount of clay in the mix, he added.

"During construction, it's going to look kind of bad," Muncy warned.

Reconfiguring the river won't reduce its flood capacity, Muncy assured residents. The reach in question is designed to withstand a flood of a magnitude that is likely to occur just once every 100 years.

While there is currently no public access to the project area, Chesterman said the city of San Jose is planning a trail connection along the stretch that would allow people to traverse the entire Guadalupe corridor. The water district may contribute funding to that end, Chesterman added.

To fund the river's reconfiguration, Ibarra said, the water district is using $150,000 in federal monies obtained through the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2004.

Despite this influx of funding, Ibarra said the water district is postponing construction on the bulk of the Upper Guadalupe River flood-protection project in the hopes that the Army Corps will come up with the rest of the $5.1 million it originally allocated to the project. The corps has contributed only $2.3 million to date to the water district's $3.4 million.

The Army Corps estimates the entire project will be finished in nine years, but the water district's estimate is closer to 12 years. The project area encompasses 7,500 homes and businesses between Interstate 280 and Blossom Hill Road.