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San Francisquito Creek
Project goal:
Provide flood protection to the cities of
Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, which have potential flood
damages from a 1 percent flood estimated at $155 million (1998 value)
and provide long-term environmental benefits for fish and wildlife.
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Project contact:
For more information about this project, contact:
Jason Christie, Manager,
Lower Peninsula Watersheds, Santa Clara Valley
Water District, at (408) 265-2600, ext. 2756.
Description of the project
San Francisquito Creek forms the boundary between Santa Clara and San
Mateo counties, and separates the cities of Palo Alto from East Palo
Alto and Menlo Park. It is one of the last continuous riparian corridors
on the San Francisco Peninsula and home to one of the last remaining
viable steelhead trout runs.
The creek flows through five cities and two counties,
from Searsville Lake above Stanford University to the San Francisco
Bay near Palo Alto Airport. It is a highly valued resource by these
communities.
The area between El Camino Real and the bay is subject
to flooding during a 1 percent flood. More than $155 million in damages
could occur in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties from a 1 percent flood,
affecting 4,850 home and businesses, according to the 1998 Reconnaissance
Investigation Report done by San Francisquito Creek Coordinated Resource
Management and Planning Organization, a local stakeholder group.
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Project status
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Since 1955, numerous floodplain management studies
have been commissioned by the Corps, the Santa Clara Valley Water
District, Stanford University, and the San Mateo County Flood Control
District.
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Grassroots, consensus-based Coordinated Resource
Management and Planning Organization has productively united local
and state agencies with citizens, flood victims, developers, and
environmental activists.
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The cities of Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Menlo
Park, San Mateo County and the district have established a Joint
Powers Authority to coordinate creek maintenance issues, to develop
a solution to flooding and to address other creek-related issues.
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The project is an excellent candidate for the
Corps’ proposed Challenge 21 Program for projects that restore
riverine ecosystems while reducing community flood hazards.
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The Joint Powers Authority Board has not yet
requested official federal involvement, but has been considering
requesting federal participation for FY 2002.
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Flooding history
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Overflowed seven times since 1910 with record
flooding in February 1998.
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Flooded significant areas of Palo Alto in December
1955, inundating about 1,200 acresof commercial and residential
property and about 70 acres of agricultural land.
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April 1958 storms caused a levee failure downstream
of Highway 101, flooding Palo Alto.
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Airport, the city landfill, and the golf course
up to four feet deep.
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Overflowed in 1982 near Alpine Road, at University
Avenue, and downstream of Highway 101,
causing extensive damage to private and public property.
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