San Jose Flood Protection Project Moving Forward
SAN JOSE (KCBS) – Despite a lack of federal funding, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is moving ahead with a long delayed flood protection project.
The District board has approved a plan to pay $9.5 million for the continuation of the project, which the federal government no longer has the money for.
Initially, the federal government had agreed to provide half the funding for the project, with a parcel tax taking care of the other half.
With the possibility of a so-called 100-year flood event on the Guadalupe River, the Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Program started in 2001 as a plan to protect several flood-prone areas of San Jose.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
"This is normally work that the Army Corps of Engineers would do," said Melanie Richardson with the Capitol Watershed Program. "But we're going to be advancing the money to do that faster and then asking for a reimbursement through a cost-share agreement."
She said that once the project is completed, people who live in the area of the Guadalupe River will be able to save some money on flood insurance.
And speaking of flooding, Santa Clara Valley Water District spokesman Marty Grimes said they are watching for exactly that this week.
"We have crews that go out when we see storms like this that are looking at the spots that cause problems and become hot spots," he said.
Grimes said any debris will be cleaned so that creeks are at their full capacity.
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