Napa River Flood Project
The Project area includes some 6 miles (9.7 km) of the Napa River from the Butler Bridge on State Route 29 on the south to Trancas Street on the north.
[3] Nine years later, they presented a plan design to the local sponsor, the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.
This design was not well received, as it relied on traditional flood control measures including straightening the main channel and constructing high floodwalls.
Environmental organizations and regulatory agencies were concerned that the proposed project would increase sediment transport and negatively impact native species, including the anadromous steelhead trout.
Rather than submit it to voters for certain defeat, an ad hoc Community Coalition formed with the intent of re-working the design into a project with a chance of success.
With the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District hoping to find a workable solution, a series of meetings involving some 25 agencies and 400 individuals took place over a two-year span.
In the downstream project area, dikes have been removed and tidal marshlands have been restored; bridges have been replaced to remove obstacles to water flow; riverbank terracing has been done to provide more room for large volumes of water; a dry bypass channel will be excavated to create a shortcut for fast moving floodwaters to pass through the Oxbow area; new dikes, levees and floodwalls will be built; bank stabilization will be used in specific areas; and detention basins and pump stations will accommodate runoff behind the floodwalls.
Work in this portion of the project included removal and replacement of existing vehicle bridges, installation of new culvert and reshaping of the creek's bank.
[7] In December 2009, United States Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn criticized a $54 million appropriation for replacing two existing railroad trestle bridges over the river with higher ones.
[9] In early 2012, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that it was allocating $1.3 million to continue federal supervision of the work currently funded on the project which is scheduled for completion in 2013.
[11] While the Army Corps of Engineers considered their work on the project complete in 2015 following the building of the bypass channel between Veteran's Park and the Oxbow district, Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District officials have asked them to continue with other work along the river in order to protect 2000 additional parcels from flooding.
