Strategy to Advance Flood protection,
Ecosystems and Recreation
SAFER
Len Materman, Executive Director
San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority
San Francisquito Creek
Portola Valley
Watershed
Woodside
Santa Clara County
(Santa Clara Valley
Water District)
Stanford
Palo Alto
Atherton
San Mateo County
(San Mateo County
Flood Control District)
Menlo Park
East Palo Alto
SF Bay
Floodplain
50 square miles; six towns; local,
state, and national parks sites;
major rail and highways, a regional
airport and Postal Service facility,
and major research university
1998 Palo Alto
2012
East Palo Alto
100-year Floodplains in Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Palo Alto
Redwood
City
S.F. Bay
East Palo Alto
1 mile
Menlo Park
Approximate number of parcels in the 100-year floodplains
= creek floodplain only (3,500 parcels)
= Bay floodplain only (2,700 parcels)
= overlap of creek and Bay floodplains (2,200 parcels)
Palo Alto
Strategy to Advance Flood protection, Ecosystems and Recreation along the Bay
SAFER Bay
Menlo Park
Palo Alto
East Palo Alto
U.S. FWS
Ravenswood
Ponds
U.S. FWS
Potential horizontal levees
with habitat transition zones
Open Space
Preserve
Funders
California Dept. of Water Resources
California Coastal Conservancy
Cities of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park
Facebook, Inc.
30” ofFish
SLR with
a 100-year
Bay tide
U.S.
& Wildlife
Service
U.S. FWS
SFPUC
N
Creek 100-year
floodplain overlapped with Bay floodplain
SAFER Bay Flood Protection Objective
100 year tide with Sea Level Rise and FEMA freeboard
• Assess flood control feature opportunities and constraints
(habitat, real estate, utilities, etc.) in relation to SLR
• Design would allow flood objective for FEMA to be
constructed immediately, while accommodating future SLR
• Designing now for future SLR could include horizontal
levees, real estate/easements, widened levee crowns,
relocated utilities/infrastructure
• Phased approach reduced upfront costs and risk of
overbuilding, but complicates permitting and requires two
funding streams
SAFER Bay Project Reaches