WATSONVILLE — The breach of the Pajaro River levee in 2023, which flooded the town of Pajaro and resulted in many homes damaged and families displaced, was a wakeup call to all levels of government that the plans to repair the aging levee could not wait any longer. Through a partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Water Resources and Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency, a systemwide rebuild of the Pajaro River levee system is underway.
That includes a portion of the Pajaro Valley that has traditionally never had any levees or flood risk management tools in place, despite cases of overflowing and flooding: Corralitos Creek in Watsonville between Green Valley Road and the Corralitos Creek Bridge at East Lake Avenue. Local, state and federal officials gathered along the creek behind the Pajaro Valley Unified School District office at Green Valley Road for a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the start of construction of the Reach 6 levee section.
The Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project is being managed by the Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency with 100% of the project cost — $599 million overall — covered by state and federal agencies. Corralitos Creek has been seen as a particular area of concern due to its lack of levees and tendency to flood in heavy rains, especially on New Year’s Eve 2022 when overflow from the creek resulted in flooding of the College Road and Orchard Park areas.
Zach Friend, Santa Cruz County supervisor and chair of the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency board, called the moment “a 70-years-in-the-making groundbreaking,” as the Pajaro River levee had been built in 1949 and has flooded several times over the decades.
“We’re turning the page from decades fighting for a project, which will now just be a handful of years of constructing a project to a new safe and secure Pajaro Valley,” he said.
Friend said it was without question, “the most important issue I’ve worked on in my 12 years in elected office.”
“The devastation that occurred in the last year here was what everybody up here had been advocating to make sure would not happen,” he said. “Just knowing that we’re now moving with shovels today to many tomorrows of construction that will lead to a safer, more prosperous Pajaro Valley, for families, for agriculture, for our future, is really powerful.”
The speakers included federal and state representatives as well as sponsoring agencies. Friend said representatives of the White House also intended to be the event, but much of their current efforts are focused on Hurricane Helene recovery in the Southeastern U.S.
“They were a key player in this with helping through the funding and also, they see this as a key factor in some of their equity funding,” he said.
Col. James Handura of the Army Corps of Engineers said the event was a major milestone in reducing flood risk in the Pajaro Valley.
“By this time next year, the entire project — about 10 miles of levees — will be either under construction or in design,” he said. “This represents a significant effort and investment from federal, state and local partners.”
The project will consist of two terrace excavation sites and one combination terrace/side channel excavation, which will also provide ecological enhancements and groundwater recharge in addition to flood management. Army Corps Lt. Col. Timothy Shebesta said the construction will harness natural options such as level fill material from an inland project flood area.
“Not only does this increase groundwater recharge and encouraging more natural river flow, but it reduces the amount of fill material that needs to be imported,” he said. “This greatly reduces the project costs as well as reduces the environmental impact of truck traffic in the area.”
California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, whose district includes Watsonville, credited Gov. Gavin Newsom with helping to secure resources in the budget and expedite legislation for the project. However, he also credited the work of the community.
“For so many hard-working residents and families in this region, it’s their resiliency, their relentless action that made this possible,” he said. “They made our job that much easier to advocate for the necessary resources and improvements to get this done.”
Rivas also talked about preparing for extreme changes in weather. Wednesday brought a high of 96 degrees to Watsonville, but he said winter could bring another round of atmospheric rivers.
“California’s on the front lines of this climate crisis,” he said. “That’s why prioritizing these projects up and down the state is critical, especially in our most disadvantaged and underrepresented communities historically.”
State Sen. John Laird also talked about gearing up for extreme weather hazards.
“When I was (state) resources secretary, my first four years were the four driest years in California history and then I had to work on the Oroville Dam as we had a year of flooding,” he said. “What this project is, is being ready for those extremes.”
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, whose district includes Watsonville, credited the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act with allowing the project to be funded at the executive branch level.
“That changed the priorities so that a community that had been disadvantaged rose to the top and was eligible for funding,” she said.
Lofgren said it is a project the Pajaro Valley deserves.
“It’s amazing what you can get done when you’re all pulling in the same direction,” she said.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta, whose district includes Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, said the project was about three P’s: partnership, pressure and people.
“We saw that it’s about the people in March of 2023, but we’ve consistently seen it’s about the people decade after decade after decade when we’ve seen the waters breach the levee,” he said. “That is why it was and it is and will continue to be a priority in which we must continue to keep the pressure at all levels of government to ensure that this project gets done.”
Panetta agreed that Wednesday was a momentous day.
“I am very proud to be here today, not just of the groundbreaking but because of what it took to have this groundbreaking, which to me demonstrates exactly what this community is about,” he said.
