Urban Streams Restoration Program

• Sponsor / Cosponsor: Humboldt County Resource Conservation District / Salt River Watershed Council
• 2014 Grant Request: $716,634, Award: $716,634, Total Project Cost: $2,101,833

The Francis Creek Rehabilitation and Restoration Project will restore channel capacity and conveyance and enhance the ecological values of Francis Creek while reducing flooding of roads, infrastructure, and residences. It will install structural and nonstructural design elements that will provide long-term sediment management capabilities, involve the community in planning for restoring Williams Creek, and build community capacity to steward project and watershed improvements into the future.

• Sponsor / Cosponsor: City of Arcata / Humboldt Bay Keeper
• 2014 Grant Request: $49,423, Award: $49,423, Total Project Cost: $98,675

This project will restore instream and riparian habitat and channel capacity by removing exotic reed canary grass and other invasive plant species and reestablishing native riparian vegetation. It will also improve instream habitat complexity by placing wood within select reaches of Janes Creek. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Humboldt Bay Keeper, and Humboldt Fish Action Council staff and volunteers will work with the City of Arcata to protect and restore public and private property to help remove invasive reed canary grass and revegetate these areas. Humboldt Bay Keeper volunteers will also sample water quality before and after restoration efforts.

• Sponsor /Cosponsor: City Nevada City / Sierra Streams Institute
• 2014 Grant Request: $485,208, Award: $485,208, Total Project Cost: $612,582

The Little Deer Creek/Pioneer Park Restoration and Flood Mitigation Project in Nevada County will restore Little Deer Creek to a more natural condition as it flows through an urban park by removing the eroding concrete channel that confines the creek, widening the stream channel and reconnecting it to its floodplain, and restoring native vegetation. This will increase the Pioneer Park’s recreational value by reducing the occurrence of flooding in the ballfield. An accessible recreational trail will also be created that will enhance community enjoyment of Little Deer Creek. The project will engage the local community in stewardship of the creek while educating citizens on issues related to urban stream management.

• Sponsor/ Cosponsor: Redwood Community Act Agency/ City of Eureka
• 2008 Amount Requested: $600,000, Award: $600,000, Total Project Cost: $4,200,000

The project, in Humboldt County, provides flood management, erosion control, restoration, and enhancement of stream, estuary, wetland, and riparian habitat, and includes community participation. Flood management goals will be achieved through replacement of tide gates to improve flood routing and fish passage. Undersized culverts upstream of the tide gates will be replaced with bridges. Detention ponds for floodwater storage and fish habitat will be constructed. Channels will be excavated to remove accumulated sediment, increase capacity, and remove invasive plants. Riparian enhancement will provide shade and wildlife habitat and a muted tide cycle will improve sediment routing and help control invasive plants. The project will reduce flooding, enhance habitat, and involve the community by working with local schools and community groups.

• Sponsor / Cosponsor: City of Fortuna / Redwood Community Action Agency
• 2014 Grant Request: $391,018, Award: $391,018, Total Project Cost: $391,018

The Rohner Creek Floodplain Restoration Project, in Humboldt County, is a continuation of the larger Rohner Creek Flood Control, Seismic and Habitat Improvements Project. This floodplain improvement includes the extension of a floodplain swale and inset floodplain. The improvements, in conjunction with the larger project, will convey flows up to the 100 year event and allow smaller flows to regularly inundate the inset floodplain along Rohner Creek, restoring channel-floodplain connectivity. Funding from DWR provides project administration, construction of floodplain improvements, and community involvement, while the project designs, CEQA, and permitting are being completed under a separate project.

• Sponsor/ Cosponsor: City of Berkeley / Earth Island Institute
• 2014 Grant Request: $441,231, Award: Contingency– Active now because funds became available, Total Project Cost: $613,731

The Daylighting Codornices Creek at Kains Street Project will restore a critical stretch of Codornices Creek, which has been the focus of extensive watershed restoration efforts over the past 20 years, to benefit steelhead, reduce flood risks and stabilize creek banks through removing concrete channel linings and reinforcing the soil with bioengineering. The project also provides an amenity to a low-income community and will offer habitat for songbirds and other wildlife, in addition to restoring habitat conditions in the creek for the federally threatened steelhead.

Donner Creek Restoration

• Sponsor/Co-sponsor: Truckee River Watershed Council/ Truckee Donner Public Utility District
• Award: $1,239,936

The Donner Creek Restoration project will restore 6.5 acres at four sites along Donner Creek, a degraded system impacted by urban development and located within a disadvantaged community in Truckee, CA. The project will use a watershed approach to flood control, stabilize eroding streambanks and reduce excess sedimentation, enhance degraded wetlands to treat pollutant loading from urban runoff, and install biotechnical features and native vegetation to enhance riparian and in-stream habitat. The project will engage the local community in stewardship of the creek while connecting local students with environmental issues, conducting community outreach in an underserved community, and volunteer restoration.

Lower Colgan Creek Restoration Project-Phase 3

• Sponsor/Co-sponsor: City of Santa Rosa/ Laguna De Santa Rosa Foundation
• Award: $4,368,066

The Lower Colgan Creek Restoration Project will restore11.27 acres of riparian habitat along 1.3 miles of creek. The project will reconnect the floodplain and will allow for natural meanders. The project will prevent flooding damage to nearby homes and businesses by widening the creek channel and reconnecting it with a more natural flood plain. Non-native and invasive species will be removed and replace with native vegetation. The project will also utilize environmental education curriculum and public outreach to engage the community in helping to care for the creek. 

• Sponsor / Cosponsor: Placer County Flood Control and Water Conservation District / Maya Archers Club
• 2014 Grant Request: $350,000, Award: Contingency – Active now because funds became available, Total Project Cost: $2,021,700

The Antelope Creek Flood Control Project, in Placer County, involves the demolition of one existing culvert crossing over Antelope Creek in Roseville and the installation of a fish friendly on-channel flood control weir and specific creek restoration elements. The weir will provide significant benefit to critical fish habitat by removing existing fish barriers, debris, and invasive plant species. Native plants will be added to the riparian corridor and an existing public recreational trail will be improved including installation of interpretive signs.

• Sponsor/ Cosponsor: Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District/ Central Coast Salmon Enhancement
• 2008 Amount Requested: $831,420, Award: $831,420, Total Project Cost: $1,323,420

The proposed floodplain and stream restoration project, in San Luis Obispo County, will increase the area of active floodplain available to Corbett Creek by 10 acres, reduce chronic sedimentation, improve riparian habitat for 3 federally-listed species, permanently preserve 12.5 acres of open space, and improve hydrologic function along lower Corbett Creek. The project will also positively affect the main stem of Arroyo Grande Creek by capturing sediment, and decrease the Corbett Creek peak flood flow by laterally spreading water over an enhanced floodplain. Stakeholder meetings will be held throughout the design process to encourage community involvement.

• Sponsor/ Cosponsor: Tuolumne River Preservation Trust / City of Modesto
• 2014 Grant Request: $532,169, Award: $412,918, Total Project Cost: $1,093,603

The Dennett Dam Removal Project encompasses design, permitting, environmental compliance, and removal of the remnants of Dennett Dam, an abandoned low-head dam located on the lower Tuolumne River in Modesto, Stanislaus County. The dam has been an instream barrier to anadromous fish migration, controlling local hydraulic and sediment transport conditions for over 60 years. Removing the dam will remediate a fish migration barrier, improve sediment transport, reduce invasive plant colonization, and greatly improve public safety and access for boating and swimming.

• Sponsor /Cosponsor: City of Farmersville / Community Services Employment Training: Sequoia Community Corps
• 2014 Grant Request: $995,677, Award: $748,465, Total Project Cost: $1,010,077

The Farmersville Deep Creek Restoration Project, in Tulare County, will: 1) prevent flooding along Deep Creek, a natural waterway that bisects the disadvantaged community of Farmersville, 2) restore the riparian habitat by removing invasive plants, litter and debris, and 3) promote environmental stewardship through a robust education/outreach campaign to "Keep Deep Creek Clean." These objectives will be achieved through the development of a comprehensive restoration plan and implementation of restoration activities on two priority segments of the Deep Creek in a built-out residential area. DWR funding will support the development of the restoration plan, and implementation for the first priority phase segment.

• Sponsor/ Cosponsor: Big Sur Land Trust/ Monterey County
• 2008 Amount Requested: $1,000,000, Award: $1,000,000, Total Project Cost: $14,342,635

This project will restore 128 acres of historic floodplain, wetland, and riparian habitat along the lower Carmel River, in Monterey County. It will return floodplain and riparian function to the site by restoring connectivity between the main channel of the Carmel River and the historic, south bank floodplain. The property will be graded to create a diverse and dynamic floodplain environment and retain a 36-acre agricultural preserve. Planting and reseeding will promote native riparian and wetland habitat. A floodwater conveyance structure at Highway 1 will be constructed that is suitable for 100 year flows and will allow for “longitudinal connectivity” between the historic floodplain and the coastal ecosystem downstream.

• Sponsor / Cosponsor: City of Calabasas / Mountains Restoration Trust
• 2014 Grant Request: $676,735, Award: $676,735, Total Project Cost: $932,860

This Las Virgenes Creek Bank Stabilization, Stream Restoration, and Fish Barrier Enhancement Project, in Los Angeles County, will remove obstacles to fish passage and improve aquatic habitat, arrest erosion and sedimentation, and re-establish a coherent riparian corridor in an urban setting. Enhancements to the creek will focus on riparian corridor restoration, erosion control, biotechnical slope and bank stabilization, fish habitat enhancement, and environmental education. This work will be accomplished in a way that improves channel flood carrying capacity and improves habitat conditions to restore the fluvial geomorphic balance of the creek.

• Sponsor / Cosponsor: Santa Barbara Flood Control and Water Conservation District/ South Coast Habitat Restoration
• 2014 Grant Request: $231,662, Award: $231,662, Total Project Cost: $488,803

The Maria Ygnacio Debris Basin Modification Project, in Santa Barbara County, reduces chronic creek bank and bed degradation and improves the hydrologic function of the main stem of Maria Ygnacio Creek. The project will also restore riparian habitat and provide access to nearly 1 mile of upstream spawning and rearing grounds for federally endangered steelhead trout. Restoration efforts include removal of a grouted rock and earth-filled dam; removal of a concrete low-flow road crossing; remediation of a fish migration barrier at the grouted rock grade control structure (upstream of the dam); and restoration of creek banks.

• Sponsor / Cosponsor: Land Trust for Santa Barbara / Santa Barbara County Flood Control District
• 2014 Grant Request: $999,982, Award: $939,385, Total Project Cost: $3,480,564

The North Campus Open Space Devereux Creek Floodplain Restoration Project, in Santa Barbara County, will remove approximately 200,000 cubic yards of fill soil from within the floodplain of Devereux Creek to reduce flooding and ecologically disruptive flood control management in the City of Goleta. The project will restore the area to create a self-sustaining system that enhances hydrologic and ecological function of the riparian-to-estuarine transition zone. It will also support populations of endangered tidewater goby and provide education through outreach, interpretive signs, a video, volunteer restoration events, and tours. Benefits from the project will reduce localized flooding, eliminate disruptive flood control activities, support listed and sensitive species, provide long term educational opportunities to college students at University of California, Santa Barbara, and support public access to a 652 acre open space by members of the disadvantaged community of Isla Vista.

• Sponsor/ Cosponsor: City of Pasadena/ Arroyo Seco Foundation
• 2008 Amount Requested: $1,000,000, Amount Recommended: $638,410, Total Project Cost: $ 2,540,000

This project will resolve problems with stormwater drainage at the headwaters of Berkshire Creek, in Los Angeles County, which causes flooding on the adjacent road and severe erosion and water pollution in the creek. The project will concentrate on ameliorating the drain outlet and restoring and stabilizing Berkshire Creek, a severely eroded and degraded channel. This includes restoration of riparian and Oak Woodland habitats, protection of an existing wetland, improvement of picnic areas, including ADA compliance, installation of interpretative signs, and creation of opportunities for scenic views. Non-native vegetation will be removed and existing trail routes that impact riparian habitats will be abandoned. The Berkshire Creek Restoration project will develop 2,200 linear feet of a hiking and equestrian trail that will provide the missing link to a 3-mile loop perimeter trail around City of Pasadena parklands.