Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

By Nick Sestanovich

A project to upgrade the Pajaro River levees and mitigate flooding has received $54 million in federal funding.

Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff announced the funds would be used to increase flood protection for Watsonville and Pajaro residents through a systemwide levee upgrade along the Pajaro River and Corralitos Creek, tributaries that have experienced several severe floods over the decades.

The Pajaro River levee was first built in 1949, but at least five major floods have been recorded since then. The most recent was in March 2023, when heavy rains cause the levee to breach, flooding the community of Pajaro where residents were evacuated and more than $300 million in damage was caused.

In November of that year, the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency entered into a Project Partnership Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite a project to upgrade the levee system. The $599 million project aims to provide a 100-year level of flood protection to the area, including new flood walls and setbacks, and reconstructing portions of the existing levee. Construction on the Reach 6 levee section — consisting of Corralitos Creek in Watsonville between Green Valley Road and the Corralitos Creek Bridge at East Lake Avenue — commenced in the fall of 2024.

Padilla, who visited the levee in April 2023, said in a statement that he has continually pushed for federal investment to prevent future floods along the Central Coast.

“As atmospheric rivers grow more frequent and severe, this new funding boost will help create new flood walls and rebuild more resilient levees along the Pajaro River,” he wrote. “I won’t stop fighting in Congress for even more funding to address the inequities in our infrastructure in Pajaro and beyond.”

Schiff said in a statement that the project was a long time coming.

“I’m proud to deliver federal funding for critical flood protection improvements for communities across our state that are most at risk,” he wrote. “Watsonville and Pajaro residents have waited decades for upgraded flood protection systems, and experienced significant damage and even loss of life in the process. It’s time that these federal dollars reach the Watsonville and Pajaro community as we work to mitigate flood risk and damage to residents, businesses, and local infrastructure.”

Schiff also credited the work of Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Jimmy Panetta to prioritize the project. Lofgren, who represents Watsonville and Pajaro in Congress, led a congressional delegation to urge then-President Joe Biden to approve a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Monterey and Santa Cruz counties to allow for federal funding relief. The declaration, which was signed by all 52 of California’s congressional representatives at the time as well as Padilla and then-Sen. Dianne Feinstein, was approved by Biden in April 2023.

“The residents and businesses along the Pajaro River have been waiting for necessary flood protection for far too long,” Lofgren said in a statement. “In September, I was proud to announce nearly $40 million for levee and floodwall construction in Watsonville, and I’m proud to have submitted this additional $54.8 million as one of my community projects this year. That’s going to help save lives and property, and I’m thankful for the extraordinary leadership Senators Padilla and Schiff have both shown by prioritizing this project as well.”

Panetta, who represents most of Santa Cruz County including unincorporated areas of Watsonville, echoed those sentiments in a statement.

“Together with Senators Schiff and Padilla and Rep. Lofgren, we have worked hard to ensure that the federal government has stepped up and provided the funding necessary for proper flood protection of the communities along the Pajaro River,” he wrote. “The partnership at all levels of government to make the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project a reality is something we can all be proud of on the Central Coast of California.”

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