The San Luis Obispo Creek flooded Higuera Street back in January 2023.
The city is now preparing for its largest flood-reduction project yet.
KSBY’s Eduardo Huijon Jr. found out how the upcoming project will increase the creek’s capacity and reduce the risk of flooding in the area.
Brian Nelson, the deputy director of public works for the city, says there have been three to four floods in the city over the last 50 years.
Nelson says the Mid-Higuera Bypass Project came out of the city’s Water Management Plan and looked at ways to mitigate flooding in the San Luis Obispo Creek watershed.
“It started with 2003 in the Waterway Management Plan,” said Nelson. “But it's really got going over the last five to 10 years. We received a $6 million Department of Water Resources grant. The city's appropriated local revenue measure funds to support the work.”
According to Nelson, the total cost of the project is $13 million.
It will increase the creek’s capacity by 40% during a 25-year storm event and reduce floodwater surface elevation by 6 to 18 inches .
The city plans to build two new flood channels, remove sediment, replace the Bianchi Lane Bridge , and enhance the riparian habitat.
“It would reduce the risk of flooding in the area and add additional flow in the creek to reduce potential flood surface elevations if we see similar storms like we have,” said Nelson.
Noah Maidrand, an engineer with the City of San Luis Obispo says the public will see a majority of construction next summer.
“It's really important that the bulk of the work happens during the summer because that's when the creek will be at its driest,” said Maidrand. “It allows the contractor to dewater the creek and remove any sensitive species that might be there and complete whatever work they need to get done within the creek banks.”
However, more testing will be conducted after the project is complete.
“There'll be a lot of post-construction monitoring requirements with all our, our grant and state agencies that we're participating with,” said Maidrand. “There'll be a lot of documentation post-construction to see how effective our replanting of vegetation has been, how effective our replacement of constructed items has been.”
Maidrand says visual inspections during major storm events will be made to see how the creek performs.
The Mid-Higuera Bypass Project is estimated to be completed by mid-2026.
