Flood Management
Move the Flood Management Plan from goals to a funded multi-year capital program with public milestones and audit trails.
Zone 7 manages 37 miles of streams and flood channels across the Tri-Valley watershed. Recent atmospheric river events have caused widespread damage to the channel system, with bank erosion and sedimentation driving costly repairs. Climate change, urbanization, and aging infrastructure are increasing flood risk in real time.
Finish the Flood Management Plan
Zone 7 completed Phase 1 of its Flood Management Plan in 2022 and is now developing Phase 2: the means and methods to achieve the goals. The plan will be updated every five years. The next board has to move it from a planning document into a funded, multi-year capital program.
Public milestones, audit trails
Capital projects of this scale need public milestones and audit trails ratepayers can read. Board service is a job, not a title. The board should be able to answer, in plain language, what was promised, what was delivered, and what it cost.
Climate-adaptive design
Update design standards to reflect twenty-first century rainfall patterns. Storm events are becoming less frequent and more intense. Infrastructure designed for a different climate has to be measured against the climate we actually live in.
Stewardship of riparian habitat
Zone 7's flood channels are not just concrete infrastructure. Many of the agency's 37 stream-miles pass through riparian corridors and seasonal wetlands that support migratory waterfowl, native fish, and the broader Tri-Valley ecosystem. Good flood management and good habitat stewardship are not in conflict — properly designed channels slow water, recharge the basin, and sustain the wetlands that buffer downstream communities from flood damage. Capital upgrades should incorporate habitat-compatible design where feasible, and the board should coordinate with conservation partners to ensure flood infrastructure protects both people and the natural systems we depend on.
Capital projects on the Arroyo del Valle, Arroyo Mocho, and Arroyo Las Positas protect homes and employers. Done right, they also improve riparian habitat that residents, vineyards, and waterfowl along the Pacific Flyway share. Every capital line should be scored on both flood performance and habitat outcomes, with the numbers in front of the board and the community before the vote.