Emergency repair set to start Monday to creek near Graton that flooded key road

Emergency work to repair a flooded section of a critical west Sonoma County road is expected to finally begin in earnest today, nearly a month after county officials closed part of the highly traveled route after it was overtaken by a nearby creek.

Weather permitting, Sonoma County Water Agency crews plan to start a weeklong project this morning to remove sediment clogging Green Valley Creek. The creek became so swollen from heavy rainfall last month that it jumped its banks and started charting a new course over Green Valley Road, with water continuing to run over the pavement long after the rains subsided.

County officials closed the flooded section of the road west of Graton Feb. 9, and the emergency repair was originally scheduled to start several days later. But the project was delayed when officials learned they needed a permit required by the California Endangered Species Act because the repair work could potentially kill or capture endangered fish.

The Water Agency received that permit Wednesday, just over two weeks after the emergency project was originally supposed to begin, and crews began Thursday removing some vegetation from the area.

One lane of the impacted stretch of road reopened to traffic Feb. 23, but county officials plan to again close both lanes early this morning in advance of the start of repair work.

“I know that no one’s excited for another road closure, but at the same time, at least this one is going to be very productive,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, whose district includes the flooded area. “We’re going to be out there working long days to try to get this wrapped up as quickly as possible.”

Flooding has long been an issue where the road curves as it approaches the creek, but residents say the problem has worsened over the years. The most recent road closure deeply frustrated people who live nearby, as many had to drive far out of their way when barriers prevented them from passing through the impacted part of the route.

Hopkins said she received as many as a dozen emails daily from constituents concerned about the closed road, but she praised county and state officials for moving as fast as they possibly could to get the repair work started.

Water Agency staff raced last month to submit their application to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which awarded the permit unusually quickly, according to Mike Thompson, assistant general manager at the Water Agency. Such a permit might normally take three to six months to receive, Thompson estimated.

“Fish and Wildlife go through a pretty extensive process when they review these permits,” Thompson said. “This one was really, really quickly expedited, and they made it their top priority to get it turned around. Honestly, it was an amazingly short time frame.”

The county committed more than $32,000 to secure the permit, according to Hopkins, with most of that money set aside for future habitat enhancement.

Once repair work begins, crews will clear more vegetation and remove sediment in the creek, deepening and widening the channel to keep the water running in its normal route. ?The project will encompass about a 500-foot stretch of the creek some 10 feet wide and 4 feet deep, according to Thompson. Repair work should reduce the frequency and lessen the duration of flooding but not entirely eliminate it, he said.

County officials do not yet know how long it will take to repair the damaged pavement on Green Valley Road. They won’t begin work on that until crews finish with the creek and get the water back in its normal channel, said Susan Klassen, the county’s director of transportation and public works.

“At that point, we’ll decide if we can just patch it and open it really quick or if we need to do something a little more extensive,” Klassen said.

“If all we have to do ?is patch it, it’s maybe one ?or two days. Until it dries out, it’s hard for us to know.”

Timothy Smith, who lives on Thomas Road just beyond the flooded section of Green Valley Road, was glad the emergency repair was starting but said a long-term solution to the creek’s problems is sorely needed.

“My fear and expectation is that it’ll just go back to being on the back burner again, and that more immediate concerns will take precedent,” Smith said. “If there were a way to light a fire under these guys when the thing dries out, that would be a really good thing.”

But the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District is already working on such a long-term plan, which should include ?enlarging the creek and developing ways to better manage sediment accumulation. The district, ?likely with funding help from the Water Agency, expects to start soliciting qualifications for design ?of that project later this year.

You can reach Staff Writer J.D. Morris at 707-521-5337 or jd.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@thejdmorris.