Creek project trickles ahead despite spiking costs

Posted by Matt Stoecker
a resident of Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Nov 17, 2010 at 1:24 pm

The JPA's Director Len Materman is correct to say that "To build something now that doesn't take into account sea-level rise would be short-sighted," he said. "We wouldn't want the community in 10, 20 or 30 years to have to go back and rebuild what should've been done today."

With this same proactive reasoning in mind, it would also be short-sighted to design and build flood protection projects on the lower creek that do not take into account the well known and immanent conditions that are projected with the rapidly approaching filling in of Searsville Reservoir in the middle of the watershed. Flood protection measures along San Francisquito Creek must be designed to accommodate for the return of natural sediment transport over Searsville Dam as has been studied, estimated, and forecasted by Stanford consultants and with JPA coordination. The reservoir could fill in completely this winter with the highest sediment filling projections.

As with sea-level rise accommodation being incorporated into flood protection design, we don't want the community to have to came back in 10, 20, 30 years and have to rebuild what should be done now to ensure that forecasted sediment transport and hydrologic changes are also accommodated.

The JPA must ensure that flood protection designs and CALTRANS Highway 101 designs adequately accommodate fast approaching natural sediment transportation rates to the lower creek.