Eroding levee to be fixed

An eroding levee in northeast Huntington Beach is a flood emergency and must be fixed now, county supervisors voted unanimously at their meeting this week.

Supervisors authorized $8 million to $10 million to fix 3,800 feet of levee on the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel, a stretch from Graham Street to its opening at Pacific Coast Highway. Orange County Flood Control District officials said the work would take about 75 days after a sped-up bidding process that could get things going by the end of the month.

The earthen levee has been eroding badly since major storms in 2005, according to a county staff report. To shore it up, workers will drive huge metal sheets through the center of the levee, 45 feet long, 22 inches wide and 15 inches deep; they will also pack down the dirt still there.

The declaration of an emergency lets the county start fixing the channel whether or not the California Coastal Commission gives them a permit. The county asked the commission for a normal permit in January for the work, but no action has been taken on it, according to an Orange County Flood Control district staff report.

It’s urgent to make repairs that could save 400 homes from serious flooding, County Supervisor John Moorlach said. “The water damage would be rather detrimental.”

The company planning to build a housing development along part of the levee is in favor of the repairs, Ron Metzler, vice president of Shea Homes, told the commission.

Shea Homes has promised to repair the levee as well if the company gets its project approved, and the staff report actually cites Shea facing delays at the Coastal Commission as a reason to fix something now. Metzler said 7,000 nearby residents would still need more repairs to be taken out of a Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zone and be free of having to pay for flood insurance.

Opponents of the Shea project also supported the repairs, calling them an important safety measure.

“The penalty for not acting could potentially be worse” than any fine, resident Julie Bixby said at the meeting.

County officials have applied for an emergency permit with the Coastal Commission to avoid fines for building without waiting for their approval, but it was unclear midweek whether they would receive one.