County Eyes Portable Pump Station To Reduce Flooding In Marin City

SAN RAFAEL, CA — County leaders are mulling a proposal to install a portable pump station in Marin City designed to reduce the chronic impacts of flooded roadways during severe weather and high tides, particularly along Donahue Street. If the project is approved, residents and visitors could see the results as soon as next winter.

Staffers from the county's Flood Control and Water Conservation District will present the proposal to the Board of Supervisors during a public hearing next Tuesday, March 21. The next steps would include an environmental permitting phase before construction potentially begins next fall.

Officials estimate the entire project, including three years of operation and maintenance, will cost somewhere between $2.1 million and $2.8 million. That price tag will be fully covered by funds secured by Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire last year.

"Marin City, which is adjacent to Richardson Bay, can become flooded during significant storms, especially when those storms [occur] during high tides," the county said Thursday. "The localized flooding impacts Donahue Street and impedes access to the Highway 101 ramps, restricting mobility of Marin City residents and visitors who must wait until the floodwater slowly drains our to Richardson Bay after a storm."

The project involves installing a "sump" near the Drake Avenue intersection which will get pumped out by portable pumps installed in advance of a major storm event. The portable pumps would carry floodwater through an above-ground pipeline that discharges into Richardson Bay.

Officials said the system will not be expansive enough to prevent all roadway flooding from storms and high tides, but would deuce the depth and duration of flooding. The approach is designed to "provide an immediate positive impact," while leaders consider other flood mitigation projects in the future near Marin City Pond.