Friday, May 6, 2005
By JAY
GOETTING
Register Staff Writer
Salvador Creek has wrought many
problems for nearby residents over the years, and may
be unleashing more in the future.
But now, concerned homeowners near the creek are making
progress in improving the health of the stream and
protecting their property from erosion and flooding.
"The wheels are finally getting greased," said Valencia
Street resident Richard Champion, one of a group of
locals that has been meeting regularly for the past
two years about the creek. Champion has made recent
presentations to several local governmental agencies.
Called the most
altered waterway in Napa, Salvador Creek winds from
Highway 29 near Valencia Street east to the Napa River
just north of Trancas Street. Where it passes through
the Vintage High School campus, the creekbed is a cement
ditch reminiscent of the channels the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers once favored.
Champion, a north Napa resident since 1979 whose property
backs up to the creek, said part of the creek was bulldozed
back when such an action was not forbidden. He said
erosion of the land on either side of the stream is
a major concern, with 60 separate parcels touching
the channel in the several mile stretch from the highway
to the Napa River.
"Another year like 1986 would
be devastating," Champion recently told members of
the Flood Control District board. A major flood occurred
in '86, concentrating its destruction in the downtown
Napa area but affecting other areas as well.
Champion said the
winter of 1998 also brought some problems, but when
the district brought in some heavy equipment to clean
out the creek bottom, it improved the situation greatly
-- for a while.
"Nothing's been done since," he said. "The biggest
problem is neglect."
Champion said the stewardship group is getting the
attention of local officials and is especially impressed
with Napa County's Resource Conservation District. "That's a good outfit," he said. "I'm
really happy with them."
The RCD is conducting a hydrological study to measure
creek capacity and other factors important in addressing
erosion and flooding. A special software program that
helps compile the data was termed "a pretty nifty
tool" by the RCD's education and outreach coordinator,
Michael Champion (no relation to Richard). Some preliminary
findings have been released and a full report will
be available some time next year.
The Department of Fish and
Game is also becoming involved.
"People have been concerned for some
time," said Todd Adams, a stormwater runoff specialist with the flood control
district. "The city has been concerned the channel can't handle the 100-year
flood event. ... It's not unusual to find sofas, chairs, tires, VCRs, computers
and almost anything you can dream up being dumped into the creeks," said Adams.
"For many, the waterways have become a dumping ground."
A huge old oak
tree toppled into the creek a couple of years ago and
remains to this day, blocking water flow and creating
a hazard.
Flood control district
engineer Jon Lander said Salvador Creek, one of many
that criss-crosses the city of Napa, was "improved" years
ago. The district has negotiated easements and acquired
adjacent property to help control the effects. Much
of the district's direct control is on the north side
of the creek, across from residences and contiguous
to vineyards.
Lander said with the existing maintenance plans, "Erosion
hasn't been great. It's all been contained in district
property.
"People have tended to throw their yard clippings over the
fence," said Lander. "If we don't thoughtfully manage
the creek, there could be problems."
He added that in some places the channel is undersized,
and there have been climatic changes in recent decades.
Storms and rainfall have tended to be more intense,
he said.
People who live near Salvador Creek
regularly see problems in their neighborhoods, and
new homes are going in with even more on the drawing
board. Nearby residents feel not enough is being asked
of developers to help mitigate the creek problems.
Adams and Lander both
noted that developers often have been required to construct
underground detention basins to keep water from running
into the creek and to limit runoff.
Richard Champion isn't convinced those measures will
provide relief. "Nobody knows if they'll work," he
said.
The local stewardship
group would like to get a plan in place modeled after
the Napa River flood control plan, only on a smaller
scale.
Adams said a widening and a
terracing of the banks -- creating a sort of wetlands
area wherever possible between Byway East and Jefferson
-- could help. Removing and replacing bridges that
impede flow could be an effective, albeit expensive,
alternative, especially near Garfield Lane.
Moving to the source of the creek in
Alston Park is yet another alternative. Creating a
wetlands there to promote water retention and soil
saturation before it enters the creek could significantly
reduce flow downstream.
Dredging Salvador Creek is another
alternative, though Adams said that hasn't happened
in years.
Supervisor
Bill Dodd, whose district includes a portion of the
affected area, said, "I am
concerned, but it's mostly a city matter, and they
have their setback rules. There is work we can do."
Dodd says getting the Department of Fish and
Game involved would be important, as well. The erosion
and flood hazard, he said, "could get worse and worse."
Napa Mayor Jill Techel, who chairs the
flood control board, has attended a meeting of the
stewardship group, and newly elected Councilman Jim
Krider lives on Valencia and is familiar with the problems.
Techel said, "There is some work afoot, but we can
always do more."
An update is scheduled for the flood control board
at 1:30 p.m. on May 17. Meanwhile, erosion chips away
at the creek banks, and when it rains, water fills
up quickly to the brim and beyond. "Time is not on our side," said
Richard Champion.