By Kathy Chouteau
On the heels of a recent torrential downpour, the Watershed Project and its partners will host the “Rheem Creek Flood Risk Reduction Project Celebration” Saturday, Feb. 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fordham Bridge in Rollingwood, overlooking Rheem Creek.
“Join the community members and organizations that have worked together on restoring Rheem Creek in a celebration,” said event organizers. The event celebrates the completion of a construction phase in the multiphase project dating back to 2019.
The event will feature volunteer planting and cleaning along the creek, family friendly educational activities, speakers sharing words about Rheem Creek’s restoration and lunch provided courtesy of the City of Richmond.
For years, Rheem Creek, an engineered creek channel flowing 3.4 miles from the East Bay Hills to San Pablo Bay, has been flooding the Rollingwood neighborhood. The Watershed Project joined forces with the City of Richmond, American Rivers and Restoration Design Group to design and implement a solution, supported by funding from the Coastal Conservancy and the California Natural Resources Agency.
The Watershed Project and its partners learned that the creek was constructed in the 1950s essentially as a drainage ditch, and determined that overgrown invasive vegetation, trash and sediment had built up in the ditch, causing flooding. They also learned flooding was caused by compromised storm drains on Greenwood Drive and at Greenwood Court.
To address the problems, the multi-phase Rheem Creek Flood Risk Reduction Project was implemented. The project involved clearing, grubbing and grading the creek channel, making storm drain improvements and restoring the creek with native trees and shrubs. Maintenance and monitoring of the creek are expected to continue for 10 years after the project’s completion.
To sign up to attend the free event, click here. Questions? Contact Amaury Kruggel-Diazandi at [email protected].
