Stormwater
Prevent flooding and manage stormwater runoff
Stormwater
The Stormwater CIP consists of projects and programs required to address the impacts of flooding in the watershed and stormwater water quality. These projects involve improvements that address localized drainage issues and larger inter-agency efforts to address flooding concerns associated with San Francisquito Creek, the Bayfront Canal and the Atherton Channel. In addition, projects in this category may be required to meet National Pollution Elimination Discharge System (NPDES), an unfunded mandate to minimize debris and pollutants discharged to San Francisco Bay. This category of the CIP is solely supported by the General Fund and future demand for funds is expected to grow. Other possible funding strategies for these projects include grants, as well as the development of benefit assessment districts that can pay for improvements in specific sections of the City where more investment needs have been identified. A new project has been added to this category this year to continue implementation of SAFER Bay, a comprehensive plan to protect Menlo Park and adjacent cities from sea level rise due to climate change.
The project involves the design of an underground structure to route stormflows from the Bayfront Canal and Atherton Channel to the Ravenswood Complex Ponds S5 & R5, which are part of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. The ponds would be used for stormwater detention and would mitigate flooding in the cities of Menlo Park and Redwood City and San Mateo County. The project is being developed through a collaborative effort between the City, Redwood City, San Mateo County and the Town of Atherton.
This project involves the design and construction of a new Chrysler Stormwater Pump Station. The existing facility was originally built in 1958 has reached the end of its useful life. The improved facility will provide flood protection to sections of the Bayfront area, which include the Menlo Gateway buildings and a part of the Meta (formerly Facebook) Campus site. The City has been awarded a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that would reimburse $5 million towards the General Capital Fund.
This project would provide funds to support the staff time needed to continue to implement a portion of the SAFER Bay project within Menlo Park. In September 2020, PG&E approached the City about partnering on a FEMA grant opportunity to address sea level rise impacting the Ravenswood Electrical Substation consistent with the SAFER Bay project and the recently completed Dumbarton Bridge West Approach + Adjacent Communities Resilience Study. Following initial coordination, the City, San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (SFCJPA) and PG&E also reached out to Meta (formerly Facebook) to consider providing additional funding to expand the project. The FEMA grant is a program offering up to $50 million per project to reduce risks from disasters and natural hazards. The City Council authorized a letter of support for the application on November 17, 2020. The City, SFCJPA, PG&E and Meta collaborated on the required documentation for a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) application, which was submitted to the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) by December 3, 2020. Cal OES submitted the grant application for FEMA consideration on January 29, 2021. On July 2, 2021, the City received confirmation that FEMA had selected the Menlo Park SAFER Bay project for further review. Since July 2021, the City has received multiple requests for additional project information and clarifications, to which the City has provided responses in collaboration with project partners.
The second of two projects, the effort being led by the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority focuses on improvements to creek sections located upstream of U.S. Highway 101 to protect communities in the City and the cities of Palo Alto and East Palo Alto from an event similar to the flood of 1998. The project proposes to widen the creek in a number of sections and the replacement of the Pope Chaucer Bridge.
The Stormwater Master Plan evaluates the condition of the City’s Stormwater system and identifies the capital improvements necessary to address surface water collection, operations, maintenance, treatment and storage requirements. The plan includes a hydraulic evaluation of the City’s storm drain network, infrastructure assessment, identifies water quality requirements, recommends planning level costs for the improvements and integrates the City’s Green Infrastructure policies. The planning period for the master plan will be 25 years.
The storm system funding study will make recommendations to pay for capital improvements identified in the Stormwater Master Plan to address surface water collection, operations, maintenance, treatment and storage requirements. It will evaluate future revenues and expenditures and identify an approach to fund these improvements and city stormwater operations. It will also consider new regulations introduced in the updated regional stormwater permit order, which expand stormwater regulatory requirements and have additional costs on city operations.
This project repairs damage to the bridge abutment from the December 2012 storm event. Preliminary study of repairs was completed with design and construction as next steps.