Lack of funding for flood control may leave Temecula and Murrieta up a creek

By: NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 21, 2007 9:32 PM PDT ∞

TEMECULA -- A multitude of government officials, ranging from city council members from Murrieta and Temecula to U.S. Congressional liaisons, joined together at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon in an effort to get the estimated $117 million Murrieta Creek Flood Control Project funded and finished.

But as the two-hour meeting progressed and ideas were floated and discussed, the question, "Who is listening?" arose.

"We can talk and talk about the issue, but are we getting that message across?" said Murrieta Mayor Doug McAllister.

City Council members looked to county representatives. County folks turned to those at the federal level. Representatives of the area's congressmen and senators suggested the municipalities start applying for grants.

The only definitive advice was to keep trying.

"The purpose of the meeting was to bring everyone together so we could visualize, as a group, the impacts of the project," said Temecula City Councilwoman Maryann Edwards. "On the one hand, I am encouraged by today's meeting and, on the other, it is very frustrating to not just go in and fix this."

The need for flood control measures was demonstrated during a storm in 1993 when the creek jumped its banks and caused $20 million in damage to the two cities. In 2005, as a first phase of the project was completed, a storm caused flash-flooding that set back the work.

But getting federal money to proceed further with the project so that it would ultimately shore up a 7.5-mile stretch of the waterway through the cities is moving at a glacier's pace.

While the problems the creek can create are multifaceted, there seems to be a singular solution.

"The main topic today is that we don't have enough money," said Dusty Williams, general manager of the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

Williams said as a result of the 1993 flooding the Army Corps of Engineers initiated studies on the creek. Those studies led to the 2000 Congressional authorization of $90 million for the project. A total of $11.2 million in federal funds were allocated for the project between 2003 and 2007. Williams was quick to point out the difference between authorization and allocation.

"Authorization is like if your parents promise to take you to Disneyland, but they just haven't told you when," he said. "There are many projects that haven't received any funding. So we are thankful for the money we have gotten. We just want more."

The Murrieta Creek Flood Control project is broken up into four phases.

The first phase, south of the First Street bridge, required widening of the creek and was completed in 2005. Phase 2 includes dredging the section of the waterway from First Street north to Winchester Road and will include the reinforcement of the channel walls with decorative cement.

While the project was initially intended for flood control, recreational and environmental elements were later added to the plan. The third phase involves the construction of a 250-acre detention basin near Cherry Street that would include the protection of 160 acres for habitat and provide more than 50 acres for a sports park. The final phase of the project will be to make channel improvements through Murrieta from Elm Street north to Tenaja Road.

Chris Carrillo, representing Sen. Dianne Feinstein, said that to have a chance of getting actual money from the federal government, the region of Southwest Riverside County would have to demonstrate that the project was the top priority in the county. He also suggested that maybe not all the aspects of the creek project are a critical priority.

"Does having a 50-acre sports park undermine the project? That is a question that begs to be asked," Carrillo said.

According to the "optimal" schedule of the flood-control district, the construction of all four phases would be completed in 2014. But Temecula City Councilman Jeff Comerchero said the optimal schedule is more like wishful thinking and with the trickle of funds coming in, he said it would be more likely that the timeline would extend to 2025 before the work was completed.

"I know everyone is very well-meaning, but is the path we're on the right one?" he asked.

Comerchero said that compared to the cost of the project now, the cost would be far greater if a once-in-100-year flood occurred, considering how the population and development have boomed along the creek corridor.

Federal funds are being diverted away from projects such as Murrieta Creek to other works, such as the rebuilding of New Orleans, said Brian Moore, department director of engineering for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Even though there is a push in California to spend billions on flood control, those efforts are focused on the levees near Sacramento and Stockton.

Edwards questioned whether the flood-control project could be paid for locally instead of depending on the federal purse-string holders.

"What would change if we would fund this?" she asked.

"I don't know," Williams said. "It's never been done before."

"Well, in Temecula we're used to doing things that no one has ever done before," Edwards said.

She said there are no plans to take the project over and said there is a desire to continue to work within the "system."

But, she added, "We need to keep that as an option. Our goal is to prevent the same kind of damage we saw in 1993 and two years ago."

-- Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.

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