LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will have two public meetings in November to discuss the Westminster, East Garden Grove, California, Flood Risk Management Study.
The meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at Westminster Civic Center, 8200 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at Meadowlark Golf Club, 16782 Graham St., Huntington Beach.
Corps representatives will be available during the meetings to provide information about the study, Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and the Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report, as well as to receive public comments. The draft feasibility report was completed in October in collaboration with Orange County Public Works and can be found at https://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works-Projects/Westminster-East-Garden-Grove/.
The study area is the highly urbanized Westminster watershed in western Orange County, which is about 87 square miles and lies on a flat coastal plain. Cities in the watershed include Anaheim, Santa Ana, Stanton, Cypress, Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the flood risk within the Westminster watershed, which is attributable to drainage channels that collect more surface runoff than what they were originally designed to convey.
Features of the proposed project include modifying about 25 miles of drainage channels in the watershed to improve flow efficiency and capacity; widening an existing bottleneck at Warner Avenue and Huntington Harbour; replacing the tide gates on the East Garden Grove/Wintersburg Channel; and constructing a floodwall along a portion of the Pacific Coast Highway at Outer Bolsa Bay.
The public comment period is open from now to Dec. 3. Comments may be submitted by email to westminster_comments@usace.army.mil or mailed to: Orange County Public Works, ATTN: Justin Golliher, 300 N. Flower Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703.
For more information about the project, contact the project manager, Mike Padilla, at (312) 846-5427 or michael.c.padilla@usace.army.mil.
For media queries, contact the Los Angeles District Public Affairs office at (213) 452-3920 or (213) 452-3925, or the Chicago District Public Affairs office at (312) 846-5331 or email ChicagoDistrict.PAO@usace.army.mil.