Pajaro River Bench Excavation – Phase 1 Completed

The work on phase 1 of the Pajaro River Bench Excavation Project began on July 1 and was completed before October 31st, which was the projected completion date.

A total of 140,000 cubic yards of sediment and debris from a 2.5 mile stretch of the river from Highway 1 to the area of the Main Street/Porter Street bridge, which required an estimated 14,000 trips with dump trucks.

Phase 2 is said to begin in June of 2013 and end the following October. This project will work its way up five miles from the Salsipuedes Creek to Murphy’s Crossing and remove an estimated 190,000 cubic yards of sediment and debris. Once completed it will help the river carry 10 percent more water and lower the river by about 1.2 feet along the 7.5 mile stretch. Along with helping the water flow better along the river it will also allow city and county to easily remove accumulated sediment and reduce the risk of future flooding.

Dozens of trees were cut down, then placed back in the river channel to then create a natural habitat for fish. This fall, native plants will be added to the now-expansive riverbanks.

The three grants funding this project total $14.1 million and come from the California Department of Water Resources. The three agencies cooperating in this effort are the City of Watsonville, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. The levee system stretches from the mouth of the Pajaro River at the Pacific Ocean, crosses Highway 1, passes the City of Watsonville, runs through acres of farmland and then borders Monterey and Santa Cruz counties after passing the bridge at Riverside Drive

You can read previous information on an earlier post.

Information on this article was taken from article written by Todd Guild of the Register Pajaronian on September 20, 2012 and also from an article written by Jennifer Squires in the Watsonville Patch.

Photo credits: Tarmo Hanula and Jennifer Squires.