Current Alternatives
Since 1999, first Congressman Sam Farr and then Action Pajaro Valley have sponsored a continuous community stakeholder planning process to provide community input to the Corps regarding a locally preferred plan with the potential for community acceptance.
In March 2004, the Boards of Supervisors of Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties preliminarily endorsed Pajaro River Project Alternative 2A with bench excavation and Tributary Alternative T4 for purposes of further analysis and for exploring final design. The Boards included direction to explore reducing the levee setback distances to decrease the amount of private land impacted, and also requested that the Corps explore a "ring levee" around the developed areas of Watsonville and Pajaro, leaving other areas with a lower level of protection. The Draft GRR and EIR/EIS will contain these analyses.
(for more information on all of the alternatives, please go to the 19 alternatives considered page.)
Alternative 2A with Bench Excavation
This is a 100-foot levee setback with bench excavation in reaches 2 and 4. This alternative has a 90 percent non-exceedence probability for a 100-year event, which means that there is only a 10 percent chance that floodwaters would rise beyond the levee in a 100-year flood.
New levees on both sides of the river will be set back and raised five feet above the existing levees, except in Reach 3.
- Reach 1 levees will be rebuilt and raised, and a tidal gate will be needed on Watsonville Slough.
- Reach 2 levees will also be rebuilt. There can be no fully-developed riparian forest in this reach, but there will be vegetation and some trees. Extensive maintenance will be required.
- Along Reach 3 through Watsonville and downtown Pajaro, levees will be rebuilt and raised in place by four feet. Some bench excavation will occur. There will be no fully-developed riparian forest.
The Corps, the local communities, and some members of the APV Stream Team agree that Alternative 2A with Bench Excavation should be analyzed further as a framework for the final project design.
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Alternative 2A has a 100-foot setback on both sides. The new levee height would be 10 feet (the existing levees are six feet, plus an additional four feet). Vegetation in Reach 2 would have an n value of 0.04 (see the vegetation in the channel page for more information on n values). The level of flood protection expected is 100 years.
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Tributary Alternative T4
The Salsipuedes and Corralitos Creek portion of Tributary Alternative T4 has been reviewed by the APV Stream Team. The project involves setback levees, floodwalls, rebuilt levees, and combinations of levees and floodwalls. Currently there are no levees along most of Corralitos Creek, so in many areas, levees or floodwalls will be added. The Corps has reviewed the College Lake outlet works and Orchard Park Ring Levee design with the APV Stream Team.
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Alternative T-4 is a hybrid alternative with a 100-foot setback on one side only. It would impact 68 acres also including 11 structures.
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