Carmel river free project intends to reconnect the river with the floodplains

From the Monterey Herald

Have you heard about the Big Sur Land Trust's Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement (FREE) Project? A recent article in the Monterey Herald discusses the project, it's history, and what we can look forward to.

From the Monterey Herald article: 
Located east of Highway 1 and south of the Carmel River, the site was formerly known as the Odello (East) Fields, where the Odello family transformed the floodplain into an agricultural field to grow artichokes.
It was donated to the Big Sur Land Trust by Clint Eastwood and Margaret Eastwood and will serve as the construction site for the Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement (Carmel River FREE) Project.

The $45 million Carmel River FREE project aims to restore habitat and reduce flood risks for homes and businesses in the lower Carmel River watershed.

Big Sur Land Trust’s project plans to create a series of new “conveyance” channels that allow the water to move through other pathways to reach the Carmel Lagoon and the ocean. Saunders [Big Sur Land Trust's Director of Conservation] explained that rather than remove the levee, the project will cut new notches into the levee to allow the water to stay in the channel but release it away from developed areas.

To prevent flood waters from disrupting Highway 1, the project will dig underneath the highway and create a new opening for flood waters to flow through. Saunders explained that a detour road will be installed once construction starts on Highway 1 to prevent traffic delays.

And to pay homage to the agricultural history of the land, the Big Sur Land Trust plans to create an agricultural preserve — with the dirt produced from the project — that is elevated to protect it from flooding.

To read the full article, follow this link. 

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