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Marin County flood control projects suspended
The King Tides and ensuing flooding that rocked Marin County this winter has sparked new conversations about how to respond to disasters like these and the role the federal government plays in keeping these communities safe. Two significant flood control projects in the county are suspended.
GREENBRAE, Calif. - As Marin County wrestles with coastal flooding, king tides and federal bureaucracy, two significant flood control projects are suspended and they won’t be restarted until the county can figure out how to balance all the interests.
Dealing with the cost of damages
What we know:
They must wait to be done right, but for how long?
In early January, Marin County had multiple low-lying area floods. Though it's not the first time, Marin is becoming an early model for what will impact other bay side and seaside communities as sea level rises, flooding other areas.
In Greenbrae, the business damage was severe.
"We're probably out at least $30,000 worth of tools and parts and endless hours of our team cleaning out and putting everything back together," said April Diego of Diego Truck Repair.
A flood control project to lessen or eliminate flooding here is now on hold by the county after FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said work here could flood other locales further downstream.
"I'm concerned about next year because, you know, salt water is bad for everything; very corrosive. So, unfortunately, on my building, I had to rip out all the sheet rock, all the insulation, rewire the whole building again. Even though we sand bagged throughout front door and side doors, the water still came through the walls," said Robin Leeof Robin's Auto Service.
No support for businesses
Businesses in Greenbrae say they are are not getting any real help.
"There was an announcement in the County of Marin saying that there was going to be allocations to help the businesses. I felt like we were led to believe that there was gonna be some help because none of us can have flood insurance here because we're below sea level," said Diego.
They say they've gotten outright interference when they tried to help themselves in the past.
"We did have a contractor go out there, maybe 15 or 20 years ago, with a bulldozer and he upped the levee walls a little bit; stopped it. But then, he got spanked and had to take it back down," said Doug Diego, owner of Diego Truck Repair.
Other delays
Dig deeper:
Another flood control project, in San Anselmo, delayed by FEMA and the county, is if and how a blocked-off wide bridge over San Anselmo Creek can be re-opened for businesses and visitors. But it can only be done if 12 downstream landowners, who might be affected by the change of the flow in the creek, unanimously approve.
For Greenbrae businesses, FEMA and the county are missing in action.
"I think my biggest red flag is that nobody has responded to me," said Ms. Diego.
"It would be nice if they were to survey just the area right around here to see what the fix would be," said Doug Diego.
"They should come out here and do surveys the land out here and hopefully rectify the flooding," said Lee.
What's next:
Marin County, facing a combination of FEMA rules as well as technical, and community challenges that prevents moving forward, says it will pause, step back and reassess how to do these and future flood control projects.
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