HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 5 S.A. RIVER FLOOD 03-07-83OAT[: FEBRUARY 28, 1983
CONSENT CALENDAR
3-7-83
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WILLIAM HUSTON, CITY MANAGER
BOB LEDENDECKER, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS~CITY ENGINEER
SANTA ANA RIVER FLOOD PROTECTION PLAN
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Tustin City Council, at their meeting of March 7, 1983, pass and adopt
the attached resolution requesting the authorization and immediate implementation
of the Ail River Plan and direct staff to mail copies of said resolution to the
appropriate federal officials who have key roles in the project.
BACKGROUND:
The Santa Ana River Flood Protection Agency (SARFPA), over the last several years,
has been spearheading the efforts to implement the Ail River Plan and to obtain
Congressional authorization so that construction can be commenced.
SARFPA, as a part of their work, is requesting that the City Council's of cities
within the santa Ana River flood plain adopt positions of support for
congressional authorizati6n of the project. The attached resolution r.equests this
~uthorization and'the immediate implementation'of the Ail River Plan.
DISCUSSION:
A large portion of Orange County is ~ubject to a flood hazard that is described'by
the Army Corps of Engineers as the worst potential hazard west of the Mississippi
River and it is predicted that a Standard Project Flood (S.P.F.) could cause as
much as $10 billion in damages on the Santa Ana River overflow area.
Currently, the Santa Ana River has a flood control dam (Prado Dam) that was built
in 1941 by the Corps of Engineers for the protection of what was then a
predominantly rural Orange County. Prado dam protected Orange County from
flooding in 1952, 1969, 1978 and 1979 from relatively minor floods. Studies by
the corps show that Prado Dam does not have the capacity to contain a really large
flood similar to that of 1862.
The Corps published this deficiency in 1970 and since then has devised a remedial
project consisting of increasing the height of Prado Dam by 30 feet, constructing
a new dam at Nentone (near Redlands) on the Santa Ana River, and improvements of
the river channel through Orange County. These improvements are known as the Ail
River Plan and would cost about $1 billion dollars and would protect Qrange County
from a S.P.F. in the Santa Ana River. A S.P.F. is about a 200-year frequency
storm. The Ail River Plan has been aproved by the Boards of Supervisors of
Orange, Riverside, and San Bernadino Counties and at all governmental levels up to
the Secretary of the Army. The next logical step is authorization by Congress
followed by appropriations for design and construction.
SANTA ANA RIVER FLOOD PROTECTION PLAN
FEBRUARY 28, 1983
PAGE TWO
In 1981, the San Bernadino Valley Municipal Water District initiated a campaign to
discredit the Mentone Dam portion of the Ail River Plan. Numerous allegations
were made regarding the Corps incompetence with respect to hydrologic studies,
improper analyzation of geologic hazards, etc. As a result of these allegations,
the construction of 3 dams was advocated as proposed in State Bulletin 19 dated
12-1-78. The Corps of Engineers has completed an evaluation of the 3-dam proposal
and found that they would provide less flood protection than the Mentone Dam and
the water and power benefits of the three dams would be very small.
The Corps of Engineers has fiscal 1983 funding to continue work on all parts of
the Ail River Plan except for Mentone Dam. Their effort will be largely data
gathering in preparation of preparing plans for the needed work. Authorization by
Congress is a legal necessity before any construction can be commenced.
BOB LEDENDECKER
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS/
CITY ENGINEER
db
RESOLUTION NO. 83-20
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A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA REQUESTING THE AUTHORIZATION
AND IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ALL RIVER PLAN
WHEREAS, the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers has been
conducting Santa Ana River Basin flood control studies for the past 18-years
and has determined that the flood threat to Orange County posed by the Santa
Ana River is the worst west of the Mississippi River due to deficiencies in
the Corps of Engineers' Prado Dam and Reservoir located on the river at
Corona; and
WHEREAS, the Corps of Engineers has developed an Ail River Plan for
removing the flood threat from the Santa Ana River consisting of modifying
Prado Dam, channel work in Orange County and the construction of a new dam at
Mentone; said plan has been endorsed by the Boards of Supervisors of
Riverside, San Bernadino and Orange Counties and approved at all Federal
levels up to the Secretary of the Army and the next logical step is
authorization by Congress; and
WHEREAS, special water interests in San Bernadino County have
belatedly raised questions about the Mentone Dam unit of the Ail River Plan
and have proposed alternative dams'and the Cgrps of Engineers has studied and
reporte.d inconclusively on the feasibility of said dams as a' substitute for
Mentone Dam indicating the need for further study; and
WHEREAS, it is entirely feasible to undertake the design and
construction of Prado Dam modifications, the Oak Street Drain and channel
improvement work in Orange County concurrently with a final determination of
the Mentone vs. Alternatives question.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Tustin City Council favors
the authorization without further delay of the Ail River Plan including
Mentone Dam or an alternative to Mentone Dam with adjustments in the final
design such that the real property acquisition line in Prado River Reservoir
remains the same as in current Ail River Plan at elevation 566 feet.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Tustin,
California, this 7th day of March, 1983.
ATTEST:
MAYOR
CITY CLERK