Great Valley Grasslands Floodplain Reconnection
Client
California State Parks
Project Categories
Tags
Salmonid RestorationFloodplain RestorationHydology/HydraulicsEnvironmental PlanninglayersPredictive Modeling & Machine Learningnote_altCEQA/NEPAvalveNature-Based Water TreatmentA Divided Landscape
A complex levee system has long facilitated agriculture along the San Joaquin River. Remnants of this system still separated the river in the Great Valley Grasslands State Park from vital native grassland in its former floodplain.
Decade-Long Restoration Effort
Beginning in 2009, current FlowWest staff joined American Rivers, California State Parks, and The Lower San Joaquin Levee District in a feasibility study to examine the potential for reconnecting the San Joaquin River to hundreds of acres of floodplain. Several years later, with additional funding from Proposition 1, FlowWest finalized designs for the Floodplain Reconnection project.
Reconnecting the Floodplain
In 2022 the project broke ground, creating breaches in the levee that the San Joaquin River will expand over the years to come. The expanded floodplain creates improved habitat for native grasses, aquatic, and terrestrial species, while eliminating the maintenance burden of the retired levees.
