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The Flood Control Project Process
Around the turn of the 20th century, farming interest
began development of the land today known as Orange County. Farms and factories
were soon established and as farming intensified and prospered, a better
drainage system was required. The Orange County Board of Supervisors formed
several “drainage districts”. Eventually the drainage districts
merged and the Orange County Flood Control District (OCFCD), was established
May 23rd, 1927 under authorization of the Orange County Flood Control Act.
The state statute was created to provide control of flood and storm waters
of the district and streams flowing into the district (such as: the Santa
Ana River, San Juan Creek, East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel and Santa
Ana Delhi Channel); to mitigate the effects of tides and waves; and to
protect the harbors, waterways, public highways and property in the district
from such waterways.
It is the mission of the Orange County Flood Control
District to “protect
Orange County areas from the threat and damage of flooding”.
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During the 1950’s and 1960’s and fueled
by the “Baby Boomers”, urban sprawl began and suburbs
were developed over agricultural fields. The infrastructure of drainage
ditches once used for agriculture now needed improvement to the level
of, flood control channels.
In 1968, the US Congress created the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP). The criterion was established to provide
100-year flood protection. In 1972, the first Flood Insurance Rate
Map (FIRM) was distributed; a majority of Orange County was in
a flood zone. Since the creation of NFIP, OCFCD goal is to completely
reduce the floodplain within OCFCD infrastructure by constructing
flood control channels that convey 100-year flood protection, constructing
retarding basins, pump stations and dams throughout the County.
Over several decades, OCFCD has reduced and removed several homes
from the floodplains. OCFCD continues to remove more floodplains. |
Hydrologic and hydraulic data are obtained for
specific floodplains; these floodplains are analyzed for elimination
or reduction to containment within the flood control facility. Strategic
planning, including preliminary engineering analysis and engineering
reports, for the construction of channel segments for entire channel
systems is developed; these channel segments are at the infancy stage
of becoming a project.
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Projects are nominated before the City Engineers
Flood Control Advisory Committee (CEFCAC). The committee composed
of the OCFCD and cities decide the best deployment of money and manpower
to accomplish conservation of water and protection of existing public
and private property from floods.
Selected projects are slated into
the Flood Control Project Seven-Year Plan. Projects slated in the
first two years of the plan are in the design process; hydrologic
data is finalized, hydraulic runs analyzed, structure is calculated,
plans are drafted, regulatory permits and right-of-way are sought
out, and utility conflicts are ironed out. When all these items
are completed or obtained, the project is advertised for construction.
Several prospective contractors will place a bid for the project;
only the lowest bid will be awarded the construction contract.
Once the apparent lowest bid contractor is awarded the construction
contract, the project moves into construction stage. The final
stage of a project occurs at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
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Projects are planned and anticipated for completion;
however, projects are subject to change due to a number of factors
such as: changes in priority, shortage of resources, shortage of public
support, lengthy right-of-way negotiations and lengthy mitigation
negotiations with regulatory agencies. Some projects are ready for
the design stage; other projects need more information, hydraulic
studies, floodplain studies, land acquisition, regulatory permits,
and utility conflicts. |
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Channel projects which do not go through CEFCAC are sometimes
designed and constructed by developers. The County of Orange does not permit
building in a floodplain. Developers at times will remove a floodplain to
develop their tentative tract/parcel maps of homes and commercial buildings.
The developers provide hydrologic
and hydraulic data for the County to review. The developer also
files a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) with FEMA to remove the floodplain.
Tentative tract/parcel maps within incorporated areas
are processed by the respective cities. To ensure the benefit of developer
participation in right-of-way dedication and construction of flood
control facilities, cities should include appropriate requirements
in Conditions of Approval for tract/parcel maps. Cities are requested
to send all tentative tract/parcel maps adjacent to OCFCD facilities
to OC Public Works for review and comment.
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