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To:	Contra Costa County Flood Control District Board of Supervisors
From:	Brian M. Balbas, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Date:	February 26, 2019

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

2018 Annual Report on CCC Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Countywide. Project No. 7505-6F8135

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 02/26/2019

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

ABSENT:

Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor

Contact:	Michelle Cordis, (925) 313-2381
cc:	David Twa, CAO Mike Carlson, Deputy Chief Engineer Steve Padilla, Administrative Services Tim Jensen, Flood Control Michelle Cordis, Flood Control Catherine Windham, Flood Control

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: February 26, 2019
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ACCEPT the 2018 Annual Report (2018 Report) from the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (FC District) and;


DIRECT the Chief Engineer, FC District, or designee, to implement the Action Plans in the 2018 Report, with a follow-up report to this Board annually and;

RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D)

REFER the FC District’s efforts to develop sustainable funding for flood protection to the Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Preparation of this 2018 Report cost $15,000, which was funded by FC District Funds. Implementation of the recommended action plans and assessment studies over the next seven years will cost approximately $4,000,000 to be funded by FC District and Flood Control Zone Funds, with ongoing efforts to offset expenses with grant funds.

BACKGROUND:

On November 5, 2013, the FC District presented to the Board its first annual report on flood protection infrastructure in order to understand its history, condition, and future needs. Annually in February, starting in 2014, we presented the Board with the FC District’s Annual Report for the previous year. The 2018 Report is provided to update the Board on the FC District’s accomplishments in 2018 as well as future challenges and next steps.

In summary, our community outreach events were successful, our capital programs made progress, and our studies of aging infrastructure and unsustainable service levels continued to highlight some major concerns, primarily regarding lack of funding.

Highlights of 2018 include:

· FC District staff visited Representatives at the State Capitol, talking about the need for stormwater funding.
· The Lower Walnut Creek Restoration Project made significant progress on the preliminary design phase. In January, the Project Study Report was released detailing the preferred alternative, and July saw the release of the 35% design plans. Grant requests of more than $9 million were submitted this past year and initial feedback on their award is promising. Tours and outreach continued throughout the year.
· Students at Walnut Creek Intermediate School held a “Stay Out, Stay Alive” assembly attended by both the County Fire District’s Swift Water Rescue Team and FC District staff.
· The FC District completed a 6th annual “Giving Natives a Chance” community planting day, with over 50 volunteers planting about 5,000 native grass plugs.
· Mark Boucher, Sr. Hydrologist, received the APWA Manager of the Year Award in the category of Engineering and Technology for his continuing efforts on improving the FC District’s RainMap rainfall tracking and forecasting online tool. The RainMap is available at www.cccounty.us/RainMap.
· The FC District received a third round of funding from the Department of Water Resources in the amount of $374,000 (with no local match required) for surveying and modeling to determine the flood-stage elevation on our stream gauges.
· Facility Condition Assessments for all FC District infrastructure are 75% complete with results indicating that that FC District facilities are in overall good condition.

We continue working with the California State Association of Counties and the County Engineers Association of California to find legislative ways to improve funding for stormwater and flood protection services. After the passage of SB231 in 2017, some jurisdictions are planning to adopt a fee and charge property owners for stormwater services, relying on the exemption that water and sewer districts use in Proposition 218; however, they anticipate being sued to challenge the fee. We, like many other agencies, are cautiously moving forward on determining if SB231 could assist in creating sustainable funding to meet the FC District’s needs. We have discussed this with some water and sewer districts.

The FC District will continue implementation of the action plans outlined in the original 2013 Annual Report. The key action for the next few years will be to focus on developing sustainable funding for regional flood protection and community drainage. For the full 2018 Report and past reports, visit www.cccounty.us/5815/Annual-Reports.

Staff recommends that the Board accept the 2018 Report from the FC District, direct the Chief Engineer to continue with the action plans recommended in the 2018 Report, with a follow-up report to this Board annually, and refer the effort to develop sustainable funding for regional flood protection and community drainage to the Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If the Board does not accept the 2018 Report, the County’s flood protection and community drainage infrastructure issues will not be adequately addressed, which will lead to lower levels of flood protection for our communities in the future.