The South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project, which had been a study into providing flood protection in the densely-populated area spanning the South Bay from Palo Alto to San Leandro, is moving forward now that $177 million in federal funding has been secured.
Along with the Corps, the two other sponsors of the project are the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the California State Coastal Conservancy.
Representatives from the three came together in late July at the Don Edwards Education Center in Alviso where they outlined the status of the project and its significance for the region.
“ We’ve got a lot of businesses that are right on this floodplain ,” said State Senator Bob Wieckowski who is pushing for $7 million in additional California funding for the project designed to protect the area from storm surges and flooding. “ We want to prevent some of the economic shock that’s going to occur if we have flooding .”
The project also includes habitat restoration. “ The federal government has been good to us with the $177 million ,” said Santa Clara Valley Water District Chairman Richard Santos .
According to the Corps, San Francisco District, all but $71 million of the cost will be reimbursed to the federal government. Construction is set to begin next year.