Thousand Oaks and county seek flood channel fix

May 09--Part of a flood-control channel that courses along Highway 101 through Newbury Park is so insufficient that flood damage could occur during rainfall more significant than a 10-year storm.

If the channel flooded, it could damage 300 properties, including homes, schools, a library and the Borchard Community Center in Borchard Park, a designated emergency shelter in the floodplain area.

Thousand Oaks and Ventura County officials want the channel fixed.

They have turned to the Army Corps of Engineers, asking in a series of letters that the South Branch Arroyo Conejo channel be the subject of an improvement feasibility study.

If the corps finds the project is feasible, it would move into the design, implementation and construction phase.

Improving the channel's capacity to handle stormwater flow could remove a requirement for hundreds of residents to carry flood insurance.

"So many residents in that area have appealed to the city and the county for assistance," said Jay Spurgin, Thousand Oaks public works director.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has designated the area south of Highway 101 from Borchard Road to the west toward Wendy Drive a high-flood area, with a high chance of flooding every year, according to Sergio Vargas, deputy director of the Ventura County Watershed Protection District.

"The reason is that the channel has limited capacity when compared to the expected rainfall runoff," Vargas said. "The Watershed Protection District has been looking at this area for some time. With the development in the area, we have looked at potential alternatives for quite some time."

The south branch of Arroyo Conejo Creek is about 1.5 miles long. Its capacity means it cannot handle rain flow from a 100-year storm, a measurement used to judge a storm's size. A portion of the channel that runs under Highway 101 can cause a backflow that could lead to flooding in the community.

In larger storms, the freeway could be flooded, as well, Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, wrote in a letter to the corps in support of the local request.

The Watershed Protection District does not have the money to fix the channel with widening and drainage improvements.

The city and county are requesting funding from a program called the Continuing Authorities Program. One criterion for qualifying calls for a project to be implemented quickly, which can be considered as moving from study to construction in three years, corps spokesman Greg Fuderer said.

The project also must have a limited scope and cost.

Fuderer said there might now be a backlog in the program, however. Approved projects have not receiving funding yet.

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