Valley Water is dedicated to reducing flood risk and keeping communities safe. Ensuring the reliability of levees is a cornerstone of the district’s flood protection work.
Currently, the Uvas Creek Levee Rehabilitation Project is helping to offset some of the severe damage to its levee along Uvas Creek caused by burrowing animals such as ground squirrels. These critters created a series of tunnels and holes along 1-mile within the levee. The project is rebuilding the levee to its as-built condition and implementing measures to prevent further holes from occurring. It is removing and replacing both banks from Miller Avenue to the Gilroy Sports Park. The maintenance repair is required to maintain the 100-year flood conveyance of Uvas Creek.
Valley Water is implementing the project in two phases. Phase 1 is addressing the land side of the levee. Phase 2 will address the creek side of the levee.
Project update
The project is complete! Valley Water has finished repairs to the levee along Uvas Creek in Gilroy. Valley Water will conduct follow-up maintenance and hydroseeding over the next three years.
Levees generally parallel the course of creeks and rivers and are a preventative measure to prevent flooding of the adjoining land. The work by the district to repair this levee will ensure flood protection for the community. In its current condition, the levee is deteriorated and will not function as it was designed.
Since summer 2013, the United States Army Corps of Engineers has conducted routine annual inspections of the levee. The Corps' latest assessment classified and rated the levee’s condition as unacceptable. The Corps determined the levee has been compromised and requested the water district take corrective action.