Santa Rosa creek restoration project gets $1.6 million boost

A creek restoration project in southwest Santa Rosa will get a needed funding boost from two grants totaling $1.6 million.

The $940,000 grant from the state Department of Water Resources and $617,000 from the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District will help move forward the city’s ambitious efforts to restore Lower Colgan Creek.

“This funding will move us one step closer to construction of this important project to restore Colgan Creek and provide a critical pathway linkage for area residents,” said Steve Brady, the city’s environmental specialist.

The project aims to improve the riparian habitat and flood control capacity of a 1.4-mile stretch of creek confined to a narrow, concrete flood control channel.

The goal is to create a wider, more natural streambed that provides better habitat for aquatic life, improves water quality and increases the creek’s capacity to handle a 100-year flood event. The project also includes the construction of a park and multi-use path.

The city took a big step forward on the project last year with completion of construction of the first phase, a half-mile stretch along Bellevue Avenue near Elsie Allen High School.

The new grants get the city closer to being able to complete the $2.5 million second phase of the project, just south of Victoria Drive. Construction is anticipated in 2017, said Heaven Moore, a city civil engineer. The total project cost is $16 million.

The open space district also approved disbursement of a grant authorized in 2007 to reimburse the city up to $2 million for the acquisition of property along the creek.

The project has numerous partners, including the Sonoma County Water Agency, which owns the flood control channel; Redwood Empire Trout Unlimited, which provides education; and the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, which is helping plant native species.