Upstream activities and the widespread removal of trees along the Pajaro wash excess sediments downstream. Photo: Lois Robin

In April citing the threat to riverside communities from flooding exacerbated by the Army Corps of Engineers' failed attempts to tame the river, American Rivers named the Pajaro River as America's #1 most endangered river for 2006. The annual America's Most Endangered Rivers report highlights 10 rivers facing a major turning point the coming year, where action by citizens can make a huge difference for both community well-being and river health.

American Rivers joined the Pajaro River Watershed Committee and the Sierra Club in spotlighting threats to the river, along with workable solutions.

The Pajaro River, and the safety and well-being of adjacent communities, are at a critical turning point. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is poised to recommend yet another old-style, over-engineered flood control project that will produce an increasing risk of catastrophic flooding. To protect Watsonville and other communities along the river and restore the health of the Pajaro, the Corps must adopt a modern, comprehensive flood control project that works with nature-instead of against it.

The Pajaro River flows from the Diablo mountain range to Monterey Bay. On the coast the communities of Watsonville and Pajaro have flooded repeatedly in recent years, most dramatically in 1995 and 1998. The transformation of the lower river's once lush riparian habitat into a denuded channel has compromised natural flood protection along the waterway. Following severe floods in 1995, most of the trees along the lower Pajaro's levees were removed in a misguided attempt to reduce flooding. Instead, the now bare channel has led to the increased velocity of flood waters, further erosion, and millions of dollars in flood damage recovery efforts.

To make matters worse, 70 years of extensive sand and gravel mining in upstream tributaries has unleashed millions of cubic yards of sediment that are washed downstream harming water quality and the river's ability to handle severe runoff. Upstream activities including farming and development have also added to peak flood flows, increasing the risk of flooding downstream.

The Corps is proposing to rebuild destructive and outdated levees, which would cost taxpayers more than $200 million to construct instead of restoring the historic upstream floodplain and wetlands that could provide the first line of defense against flooding.

American Rivers and its partners on the Pajaro are urging the Corps to advance a watershed-wide management plan for the Pajaro that works with nature, and not against it. Such a plan would seek a more natural course for the river, restore a healthy riparian corridor, revegetate the river's banks and channel, and identify upstream wetlands and riparian lands where floodwaters could naturally and safely overflow.