A financial gap in the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project will likely soon get filled after Gov. Gavin Newsom authorized funding assistance from the state that would help bring flood protections to South Santa Cruz County at long last.
Newsom recently signed off on Senate Bill 489, clearing the way for the Department of Water Resources to advance gap financing to the $400 million project that seeks to overhaul the Pajaro River levee system that has repeatedly provided inadequate protection for local residents.
“The current configuration of flood protection, a levee system constructed in 1949, provides only five-year flood protection along the Pajaro River and seven-year flood protection along Salsipuedes Creek. Since its construction, the region has experienced six major floods – the 1995 event caused over $95 million in damages and two people lost their lives,” the bill’s author, Sen. John Laird (D – Santa Cruz), said in a prepared statement. “SB 489 is my commitment to prevent disaster in the communities surrounding the Pajaro before it strikes again.”
Find the full article here: https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/04/newsom-signs-pajaro-river-flood-…