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In Crisis, Opportunity

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Submitted

Editor: I had the pleasure of attending a meeting sponsored by the Sonoma County Water Agency to hear their proposals about how to deal with the occasional flooding of 1st St. West along Depot Park. The purpose was to receive the public’s comments on their plans.
One of the issues is that the Water Agency had been promised a grant, originally to flood the field at Montini Ranch but since that was rejected by the people and determined not to be feasible for other reasons, they’re looking for another way to spend this money, quickly. So they developed some plans to address the flooding on 1st St. West which, we were told, will be presented to the City Council Feb. 18, 6pm in the Community Room next to the police station.

It’s too bad they feel required to rush to a decision (granted, given the time necessary for all the excellent studies and plans, one could hardly call it a rush) still, they’re facing a deadline regarding the availability of the grant money.

I believe the cause of the flooding is runoff from the hardscape of the street and parking lots. The “crisis” is flooding. The “opportunity” is groundwater recharge, which, since we have salt water intrusion 7 miles inland from the Bay, is a significant concern.
At the meeting there seemed to be an Old School vs. New School paradigm. Old School: cut down the non-native, invasive, messy Eucalyptus trees, dig a 10 ft. deep ditch, install a 54” diameter pipe, widen the road, add parking, a bike path and a sidewalk. Get rid of the water fast. Problem solved.
New School: Wait a minute! What about groundwater recharge close to the city’s municipal well that draws so much from the water table it has created a groundwater cone of depression? Fortunately, Plan 2, with an overflow swale in Depot Park would allow water infiltration when we get a down pour and it would preserve the habitat for the fox, deer and ducks that use the water in that creek along Depot Park, and preserve the Eucalyptus trees that provide nesting sites for owls and raptors. Apparently there are other areas nearby that have been identified as likely spots for overflow swales and could provide some additional recharge. Let’s hear more about that.
This flooding “crisis” could be a state of the art, science-based conservation project and become an ongoing resource for our students in the school district’s STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) by providing educational opportunities for the study of hydrology, chemistry, soil science, biology and botany.

Another “opportunity” could be a public conversation about sheet mulching lawns which creates an environment that favors soil fungus which can make our adobe soil porous to the deluges we get from atmospheric rivers and decrease our need to irrigate our landscaping with drinking water, and potentially increase groundwater recharge. And, too, we could have a public conversation about the use of Mulch Basin Swales along our streets to capture hardscape runoff. There are lots of wonderful opportunities here!

Karla Noyes
Sonoma




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