Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement (Carmel River FREE) Project
A watershed-related issue examined by the ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems class at CSUMB.
Contents
Summary
The Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement Project (Carmel River FREE) is a project in the Lower Carmel River Watershed, east of Highway 1. Carmel River FREE is a collaboration between the Big Sur Land Trust (BSLT) and the County of Monterey. The project encompasses the following goals: [1]
- Removal of 1,500 ft of levee on the south side of the Carmel River to allow river access to the Odello East floodplain,
- Construction of a 360 ft causeway along Highway 1 to allow floodwater movement under the highway and connect the floodplain to the Carmel River Lagoon,
- 100 acres of riparian and floodplain habitat restoration,
- 23 acres reserved for organic agriculture, elevated to protect from flooding.
Construction is projected to begin in late 2017 or early 2018 and be completed within a year. [2]
Objectives
Location
Lower Carmel River Watershed, Monterey County, California.
History
The Lower Carmel River has a history of flooding. In 1997-98, the mouth of the Carmel Valley was covered in a foot of water. Instead of expensive levee reinforcements, in 2010 BSLT proposed alleviating the risk of flooding by restoring the floodplain. [3]
Funding
The Big Sur Land Trust secured $14 million in grant funds from the California Water Resources Agency, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish and Wildlife Service, California Coastal Conservancy, and the California Wildlife Conservation Board. [2]
The 2014 Monterey County Service Area 50 Flood Control Report [4] estimated that the Carmel River FREE project would reduce the cost of flood control improvements from $25,771,000 to $11,322,000.
Resources at stake
Stakeholders
County of Monterey
Monterey County Water Resources Agency
Monterey Peninsula Water Management District
California Department of Parks and Recreation
Residents of the Lower Carmel Valley
Clint and Margaret Eastwood
References
- ↑ Carmel River FREE, BLST blog
- ↑ Carmel River FREE Project hopes to relegate flooding to history, Monterey County NOW
- ↑ CSA-50 Final Lower Carmel River Stormwater Management and Flood Control Report
Links
Disclaimer
This page may contain student work completed as part of assigned coursework. It may not be accurate. It does not necessary reflect the opinion or policy of CSUMB, its staff, or students.
