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Butte County: 67,000 cubic yards of sediment in Five Mile Basin; county to pursue parcel assessment, expedited design
Summary
Butte County public works said sediment has raised the floor of the Five Mile Basin in Bidwell Park by about 67,000 cubic yards and reduced the structure’s flood freeboard, driving an estimated removal and permitting cost north of $7 million. The county told the City Council it will pursue an expedited design and permitting process while preparing a Prop 218 parcel assessment to fund the work.
Butte County’s public works director told the City Council that long-stopped sediment removal at the Five Mile Basin in Bidwell Park has left the basin carrying roughly 67,000 cubic yards of material and has reduced its margin of flood protection.
“Based on an analysis done by our consultants, approximately 67,000 cubic yards of sediment have been deposited in the basin,” Joshua Pack, Butte County director of public works, said during a presentation to the council. He said hydraulic modeling shows the sediment is eroding the basin’s design freeboard and that the county now estimates initial removal costs at about $5.4 million, rising to more than $7 million after CEQA compliance and permitting work are included.
The county traced the problem to earlier restrictions on in‑basin operations. Pack said the Army Corps built the original structures in the 1960s and that sediment removal was curtailed in the 1990s after a California Department of Fish and Wildlife cease‑and‑desist order. Vegetation and re‑established riparian habitat in the basin now require careful environmental review before any large‑scale maintenance.
Pack said the county has taken several…
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