Crews to Prep San Lorenzo River for El Nino

Photo: The San Lorenzo River flows into Monterey Bay in front of the Boardwalk during El Nino storms in 1998. Credit: USGS
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SANTA CRUZ, CA - The City of Santa Cruz will start a flood control project in the San Lorenzo River Wednesday, between the Highway 1 and Water Street bridges. The work will be performed 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and should wrap-up on Friday.

The sediment disking will increase capacity of the river in advance of heavy winter storms. 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

If you’re thinking that the city just performed their annual maintenance on the river, you’re right - back in September. However, with concerns over El Nino predictions, a deeper disking is being done to better loosen the sediment and allow a greater volume of sediment to be transported through the area during any potential storm events.

The work has been approved by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and a biologist on site to monitor work.