Flood-Control Funding Bill Goes to Assembly

SACRAMENTO — The state Senate on Friday approved legislation to help pay the Orange County Flood Control District’s share of the planned $1-billion Santa Ana River Flood Control Project.

The measure, introduced by Sen. Edward R. Royce (R-Anaheim), would commit the state to paying 70% of any project costs that are not paid by the federal government.

The Senate approved the bill on a 29-0 vote and sent it to the Assembly.

Royce said the measure would save Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties about $137 million. Orange County’s share of that amount would be about $128 million, Royce said.

New federal standards require local governments that benefit from federal flood control projects to pay a higher percentage of their costs than ever before, Royce said. Without the state money, he said, “work on the flood-control projects could come to a halt.”

Flooding in recent years in the Santa Ana River valley has left levees badly damaged, he said.

To protect central Orange County during any future flood, the Army Corps of Engineers has recommended construction of a new dam on the Santa Ana River in the San Bernardino Mountains, expansion of the existing Prado Reservoir and enlargement of the lower Santa Ana River channel.

The project also will include purchase and restoration of 92 acres of wetlands where the river meets the Pacific Ocean.

Gov. George Deukmejian has no position on the bill, a spokesman said Friday.