Pajaro River

Flood Risk Management Project

About the Project

The Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project – a $599 million effort to reduce flood risk from the lower Pajaro River and Corralitos and Salsipuedes Creeks -- will provide 100-year flood protection to the City of Watsonville and the town of Pajaro, and a mix of 100-year and 25-year flood protection to the surrounding agricultural areas. The US Army Corps of Engineers and the CA Department of Water Resources will pay 100 percent of all project costs. However, the community is required to pay for ongoing operations and maintenance of the levee system.

First Increment of Construction: Reach 6 - Corralitos Creek

The Reach 6 project involves constructing new setback levees along Corralitos Creek from Green Valley Road to E. Lake Avenue/Highway 152. The project is underway, starting with vegetation removal and utility relocations. Civil construction can take place year-round, weather permitting, because new levees are being constructed where currently none exist. See Project Documents section below for Reach 6 design plans.


Project Fact Sheet

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Fast Facts

  • The project is to be cost-shared by the USACE (65%) and the CA Department of Water Resources (35%).

  • The project is currently in the pre-construction, engineering and design phase.

  • Construction, which is expected to begin in 2024, will be managed by the USACE in partnership with PRFMA and the state.

Project Need

Levees protecting the City of Watsonville, the town of Pajaro and surrounding agricultural areas are critically deficient. Today, these levees only provide an 8-year level of flood protection, among the lowest of any federal flood control project in California. At a minimum, 100-year flood protection is required to provide adequate flood protection for these disadvantaged communities and comply with federal regulations.

 
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Fast Facts

  • The original federal levee system for the Pajaro River was completed in 1949.

  • Since 1949, there have been five major floods on the Pajaro River and its tributaries -- in 1955, 1958, 1995, 1998, and 2023 -- that overtopped or breached the levees

  • A “fix” for the Pajaro River levees was initially authorized in the Federal Flood Control Act of 1966, but only resulted in decades of unsuccessful planning efforts

  • Meanwhile, floods hit again in 1995, 1997 and 1998

  • The 1995 flood caused more than $95 million in damage and two people died, with additional damage in 1997 and 1998 and displacement of hundreds of residents

  • Levees nearly broke again during the storm events of early 2017

  • In March 2023, a 400-foot breach on the Pajaro River (Monterey County side) resulted in a major flood in the Town of Pajaro, causing more than $300M in damages and forcing the evacuation of approximately 3,500 residents.

Project Documents