Zuma Creek Bridge Clutter To Get Caltrans Attention
Written by 991KBU on December 17, 2018
Flash floods and debris flows are going to be a constant concern when ever it rains in Malibu for the next three years. That’s the bleak assessment from the head of the Los Angeles County public works department … delivered at the LA county meeting held yesterday … at Pepperdine … for residents to learn about county efforts following the fire.
Mark Pestrella says any house in a canyon is at risk for mudflows … think Montecito.
And he says Trancas Canyon .. the Malibu West subdivision … is the area of great concern for mudflows.
PESTRELLA :16 QQ: Zuma Canyon area.
At Zuma Creek … udner the PCH bridge … a large accumulation of trees and sandy debris has built up.
Pestrella says the county and Caltrans are working on a plan to remove the stiff from the channel and increase th flow capacity under the PCH bridge.
But … historic pictures we’ve seen from a flood in the 1950s show that bridge under three feet of water.
The head of the county Department of Public Works says work will continue … to clear flood control basins above Malibu West … on a continuing basis every time it rains for years.
One gigantic question mark is the Malibu Creek drainage area … hundreds of square miles of mountains and hills they have been bake into a black wasteland.
This is precisely the type of soil condition that the USGS has been warning about for years … as it drew flood maps that include low-lying areas along Malibu Creek near Pacific Coast Highway.
Pestrella says the county will have its emergency operations Center staff every time it rains … with field crews checking for debris flows up the canyon … beyond the 101 freeway.