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 Harold Hartman (center in blue shirt and jacket) looks over a map of the Santa Paula Creek area with representatives from Granite Construction, Inc. (left) and from Ventura County (left) during a Jan. 3 meeting along the creek. Hartman was in the area to begin work as part of the Emergency Action Plan the Corps jointly prepared with Ventura County for the creek. The plan was activated n response to heavy rains forecast for the area the weekend of Jan. 4.
“The Corps is covering the cost of this work,” said Harold Hartman, who is in charge of the District’s Southern California Office in Palmdale. “We’re responsible for the channel.”
 Workers from Granite Construction, Inc. clear out material from Santa Paula Creek Jan. 3. The Los Angeles District contracted with Granite to perform the work as part of an Emergency Action Plan which the Corps has signed together with Ventura County. The plan was activated in response to rain forecast which called for heavy showers in the area.
“The Corps did a great job considering the tight time frame,” Long said. “I appreciated that they worked closely with County staff, using a commonsense approach to provide the emergency protection to the adjacent landowners, and with limited funding. I and the community of Santa Paula and the valley appreciate the response.”
 Corps employees supervise as workers with Granite Construction, Inc. clear out material from Santa Paula Creek Jan. 3. The L.A. Districted Granite to complete the work in anticipation of heavy rains which were forecast for the area and fell the next day.
Two employees were on hand to supervise the work being done. Granite had 10 of its employees working, in shifts, though the night of the 3rd. Workers operated two D8 bulldozers and a 330 Caterpillar Excavator to remove between 45,000 and 50,000 cubic yards of material from the center of the channel.
 Granite Construction, Inc. workers continue their work to clear out a pilot channel down the center of Santa Paula Creek Jan. 4. Granite, the Corps’ Los Angeles District contractor for the work completed in the creek, used two D8 bulldozers and an excavator to clear between 45,000 and 50,000 cubic yards of material from the creek over the course of 32 hours.
The workers cleared from Harvard Bridge, which is approximately three quarters of a mile upstream from the confluence of the Santa Clara River, all the way to where the two meet. Workers cleared the center of the creek to a distance of about 50 feet across. That equates, in rough terms, to covering five to six football fields 15 feet deep. The material was not be moved out of the area; however. It remains mostly on the eastern side of the creek.
 Two photos show the work done over two days in Santa Paula Creek. In the top photo, taken Jan. 3, workers begin clearing out a pilot channel to direct water away from the sides of the creek. In the lower photo, workers have cleared a channel around 50 feet wide for a distance of three quarters of a mile. The creek did not overtop its boundaries during the rains over the weekend. Hartman said the work done by Granite and the responsiveness of the Corps’s Los Angeles District employees helped ensure businesses and motorists in the area remained safe.
“I was gratified by the responsiveness of everyone involved,” he said. “We had contractors, contracting, budget and environmental personnel. Everybody just jumped in and ‘got ‘er done.’ This is another example of a successful execution of an Emergency Action plan in conjunction with our partners.” |
