20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com without taking sediment with it and undermining the levee walls. “There’s been a lot of media hype about El Niño,” says Strudley, who was previously a hydrologist with the National Weather Service. “It’s tough to tell even with a strong El Niño what that means for us here in the Santa Cruz, Monterey County area. You do get more wet winters in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest. We’re in between that.” Regardless, he says PRFMA is preparing for whatever may happen. “The name of the game is preparedness,” Strudley says. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Strudley says he’s been in constant contact with Fisher and the researchers as the results from the study trickle in. While the study is only a recommendation and not binding, Strudley adds it’s been “super helpful to have.” The research can help inform the design of the levee, he says, as the Army Corps of Engineers relies on studies to show the best way to build the channel to maximize flood protection within the constraints of the space it has to work with. But it can also guide the design in a way that accomplishes that goal while benefiting water quality and wildlife. Those specific recommendations from the researchers will be outlined in the final report. “It’s showing us things that we otherwise wouldn’t necessarily know,” Strudley says. “It’s helping us understand that maybe we want to put a levee here and not exactly there. Maybe we want to excavate this new floodplain bench to this depth because we think it helps groundwater recharge.” Construction is underway on what’s known as Reach 6, which is adding levees along a section of Corralitos Creek in Watsonville. Work is expected to continue into 2027, according to Strudley. The next section, Reach 5, which follows Salsipuedes Creek through Watsonville to the Pajaro bridge, recently passed the 60-percent design milestone, Strudley says, with final design expected sometime in 2027. Following that are Reaches 4, 3 and 2 in Pajaro (Reach 4 contains the section that broke in 2023). According to Strudley, those phases could have design contracts in place later this year. State legislators, meanwhile, are close to giving PRFMA more tools to complete levee maintenance projects. Senate Bill 1055 by State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, passed the California Assembly and Senate earlier in August. The PRFMA currently has limited construction procurement methods, such as awarding design and construction projects separately and to the lowest bidder. The bill opens up four more procurement methods for PRFMA, including what is known as “design-build,” where one contractor is awarded the design and construction project at once. “SB 1055 gives the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency more flexibility to deliver critical levee and flood control improvements faster, helping better protect families, businesses and farmland from future flooding,” Laird said in a statement. The bill is going through proofreading before it goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for his consideration. Many of the students involved in the research spent this summer putting the final touches on the work they’ve spent the past few years toiling over. For Nair, that included collecting data from winter 2023 through spring 2024, then spending a year in the lab filtering the water samples and extracting the DNA. It’s been roughly another year of analyzing the data. Alter says the research project holds a special meaning for many of the students. “It’s such a relevant issue for anyone who lives in this area,” she says. “We all experienced those intense rainstorms of 2023. The students live in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz counties. They’re very familiar with the terrible flooding and destruction that occurred. “They see the impacts of climate change firsthand in their communities. This project was really exciting for them in that regard because they had the opportunity to collect data that can make a difference in the long run.” Both Alter and Nair note that the CSUMB team was just a piece of a bigger project, one they hope will pay dividends in the future. “We’re a small little puzzle piece in the whole thing,” Alter says. “It’s been amazing to work with such a broad, diverse array of scientists. “Keeping these levees functional and keeping these channels clear can be expensive.” Above: CSU Monterey Bay graduate student Subi Nair collects water samples in the Pajaro River to be analyzed in the lab. Right: For most of the year, the water level is low in the Pajaro River, seen near the Salinas Road bridge, allowing for vegetation to grow. LAURYN TAGASHIRA DANIEL DREIFUSS
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