Annual Flood Prevention Creek Cleanup Under Way in Ross Valley

ROSS VALLEY, CA — Overgrown vegetation, debris and concrete rubble will be removed in San Anselmo Creek starting Wednesday, Sept. 28 as part of an annual creek maintenance program in the Ross Valley. San Anselmo Public Works and the Flood Control District Zone 9 are planning to remove up to two cubic yards of concrete debris from the creek bed. The debris slows the flow of water and reduces the capacity of the creek.

The work is expected to take about three weeks and will focus on the downstream end of downtown San Anselmo between the Lincoln Park footbridge and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. These pieces of debris accumulated in the creek over many years and are mostly pieces of failed retaining walls. In some places, they have accumulated to the point of diminishing both the channel capacity and aquatic habitat.

As part of their ongoing annual creek maintenance efforts, the Ross Valley Flood Protection and Watershed Program and the towns of San Anselmo, Ross, Larkspur and Fairfax, in collaboration with private landowners, are working together to inspect creeks and identify vegetation that could restrict water flow during the winter months. Crews from the North Bay Conservation Corps will perform the work using best practices endorsed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

One of the most challenging issues facing the Ross Valley has been addressing the type of severe flooding that occurred in 1956, 1982 and 2005 — each of which left widely-felt impacts throughout the valley. Despite the most recent severe flood being 11 years ago, solving the problem of costly and chronic flooding remains a priority.

Ross Valley residents live in Flood Control Zone 9, which encompasses the watershed drained by Corte Madera Creek and its tributaries, and includes the towns of Fairfax, San Anselmo, Ross and Larkspur and the communities of Kentfield, Greenbrae, Oak Manor and Sleepy Hollow.

— News release and photo from County of Marin Public Information Office