Flood control improvements unveiled Tuesday, Aug. 15, in Huntington Beach are part of a decades-long series of projects that federal and local officials say will improve flood protection in western Orange County.
The $83 million project transformed a section of the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel from Warner Avenue near Springsdale Street to Goldenwest Street. Once a trapezoid shape with sloped sides, the man-made channel that moves storm water out to the ocean is now rectangular with vertical barriers along the sides to increase water capacity – where once it was rated for a 20-year storm it is now ready for a 100-year storm, officials said.
And these changes may save homeowners on their insurance.
“As design requirements have evolved and changed, flood control channels of today are required to effectively handle a greater amount of water,” James Treadaway, OC Public Works director, said. “We are delivering these infrastructure projects as safely, quickly and cost-efficiently as possible to bring the county’s flood controls channel up to today’s standards and protect our neighboring homes and businesses.”
In 2017, the county initiated a study with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers resulting in several flood protection improvement projects planned the Westminster watershed, which encompasses about 74 square miles and includes portions of Anaheim, Stanton, Cypress, Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, and Huntington Beach.
“What you have is a lot of sediment, a lot of dirt, a lot of sand with no natural deposits so we can’t channel water to go out to the ocean like you have in the central part of the county with the Santa Ana River,” First District Supervisor Andrew Do said during a press conference, adding that an increase in rain has put these areas at a higher risk of flooding.
Construction of the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel started in August 2020, increasing its water capacity by…
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