Preparing for the Storm

Catalyzed by the extensive damages caused by the Winter 2016-2017 storms and the opportunity to align flood response with major habitat improvement, Preparing for the Storm is an innovative public-private partnership to improve watershed health and resilience in the Alameda Creek watershed.

The project leverages a diverse portfolio of flood-related funding to implement high-priority, multi-benefit projects. Preparing for the Storm will:

re-establish floodplain and riparian habitat along over 2 miles of steelhead streams,
restore 10 acres of rare Sycamore Alluvial Woodland habitat,
reduce flood peaks and increase recharge through a floodable park and vineyard,
advance stormwater planning for a 50-square-mile urbanized valley,
establish a regime of regular reuse of an estimated 50,000 cubic yards/year of coarse sediment,
and resolve an array of previously-identified water quality and sediment erosion hotspots.

Preparing for the Storm is an exciting partnership between Zone 7 Water Agency, the San Francisco Estuary Institute, H.T. Harvey & Associates, and the San Francisco Bay Joint Ventures. The project was funded by the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund, EPA Region IX.

Project Components

The project leverages a diverse portfolio of flood-related funding to implement high-priority, multi-benefit projects. Preparing for the Storm will re-establish floodplain and riparian habitat along over 2 miles of steelhead streams, restore 10 acres of rare Sycamore Alluvial Woodland habitat, reduce flood peaks and increase recharge through a floodable park and vineyard, advance stormwater plans for a 50-square-mile urbanized valley, establish a regime of regular reuse of an estimated 50,000 cubic yards/year of coarse sediment, and resolve an array of previously-identified water quality and sediment erosion hotspots.

To achieve these ambitious outcomes, our team of expert scientists, engineers, implementing agencies, and large streamside private landowners will apply an integrated strategy to reduce excessive stream flows, erosion, sedimentation, and water quality impacts. Demonstrating a proactive, process-based approach to the large storm events anticipated to be more frequent in coming years, Preparing for the Storm provides a regional model for enhancing hydrological and ecosystem resilience.

The project findings have been synthesized into this online “toolbox.” The toolbox includes a description of this project, scientific guidance on planning for climate resiliency, implementation project case studies, and outreach information as part of an effort to get the word out about this project.

Preparing for the Storm was funded by the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund, EPA Region IX.

Establishing greater resilience to climate change and urbanization in the Alameda Creek watershed is critical to maintaining healthy aquatic habitats. Otherwise, increasingly large storm events, exacerbated by urban runoff, will continue to erode sediment, undermine riparian habitat, and necessitate costly and disruptive bank stabilization and sediment removal activities. Critical watershed improvements for resilience include increasing the potential for rainfall interception, infiltration, and recharge to reduce flood peaks and associated erosion. Along stream channels, a “Room for the River” approach is essential to provide the capacity for dynamic sediment storage and transport, floodplain connectivity, and sustainable riparian habitat — all of which modulate peak flows. In this project, scientists and land managers will work together to develop on-the-ground guidance and tools to implement resilience-building actions.

Through this project, the project team will develop science-based plans and tools to guide both the design of immediate implementation projects and dozens of subsequent urban greening and stream restoration projects.

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Using the tools developed above in Task 1, Zone 7 will leverage its own lands in collaboration with large streamside property owners – Concannon Vineyard, Livermore Area Regional Park District (LARPD), and Castlewood Country Club – to create sustainable aquatic and riparian habitat improvements.

The project team will design, construct, and monitor three major aquatic and riparian habitat restoration projects on Arroyo de la Laguna (ADLL) and Arroyo Mocho, and engage in several planning-level efforts along both arroyos.

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The project team will conduct participatory outreach in collaboration with the Living Arroyos watershed stewardship program, involving volunteers in the implementation projects, and through regular interactions with the ADLL Collaborative and Bay Area Flood Protection Agencies Association (BAFPAA).

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Photo credit: Kingmond Young

Flood Control 2.0 Wins an Outstanding Environmental Project Award! (News)

The Flood Control 2.0 project team was presented with an Outstanding Environmental Project Award at the 13^th Biennial State of the Estuary Conference in Oakland, CA. The award is given by the Friends of the San Francisco Estuary to projects that benefit the San Francisco-Bay Delta Estuary and its watersheds.

Flood Control 2.0 (Project)

Flood Control 2.0 is an ambitious regional effort aimed at helping restore stream and wetland habitats, water quality, and shoreline resilience around San Francisco Bay. The project leverages local resources from several forward-looking flood control agencies to redesign major flood control channels so that they provide both future flood conveyance and ecological benefit under a changing climate. This timely project will develop a set of innovative approaches for bringing environmental benefits and cost-savings to flood protection efforts at the mouths of creeks that drain to San Francisco Bay.