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 collaboration between the Big Sur Land Trust (BSLT) and the County of Monterey Resource Management Agency to reduce the risk of flooding in the Lower Carmel Valley and restore the active floodplain. The project encompasses the following components: [1] [2]
- 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 historic floodplain restoration,
- 90 acres of riparian and grassland habitat restoration and monitoring,
- 23 acres reserved for organic agriculture, elevated above the 100-year floodplain.
Construction is projected to begin in early 2018 and be completed within a year. [3]
Location
Carmel River FREE will restore floodplain in the Lower Carmel Watershed in Carmel Valley, Monterey County, California. The project site is east of the Highway 1 bridge over the Carmel River.
Background
Objectives
In 2010 BSLT proposed alleviating the risk of flooding in the Lower Carmel Valley by restoring the floodplain instead of expensive levee reinforcements. [4]
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. [3]
The 2014 Monterey County Service Area 50 Flood Control Report [5] 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
Special status species
Agricultural land
Businesses and houses of CSA-50
CSA-50 includes the Crossroads shopping center and private residences in the Riverwood, Arroyo Carmel, and Mission Fields communities. The area is within the 100-year floodplain limits of the Carmel River North Overbank; CSA-50 has 69 Repetitive Loss Properties, 63% of such properties in Monterey County. [5] Flooding in 1995 damaged 220 residences in CSA-50 and destroyed the Highway 1 bridge.
Infrastructure
Agencies Involved
Monterey County Water Resources Agency
Monterey Peninsula Water Management District
California Department of Parks and Recreation
Links
References
- ↑ Carmel River FREE, BLST blog
- ↑ Carmel River FREE handout, BSLT Carmel River FREE handout, BSLT
- ↑ Carmel River FREE Project hopes to relegate flooding to history, Monterey County NOW
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 CSA-50 Final Lower Carmel River Stormwater Management and Flood Control Report
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.
