For the past 25 years the Sespe Creek levee has served Fillmore well and allowed economic development to slowly march forward. Due to reconsiderations by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) Fillmore’s future may be placed in peril.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA has embarked on a mission to restudy all levees in the country. The outcome of the pending study may determine if the Sespe Creek levee provides protection against a 100-year flood event in what is now 24 years post construction. In the event that the Sespe Creek levee is deemed to no longer meet that requirement, it will be decertified.

Decertifying the levee may affect approximately 40 percent of city residents and would greatly affect the economic health of the city. If this happens, it will have devastating consequences. Property values may be reduced, homeowner insurance rates may be affected and the now pending Business Park may be stalled.

For the past 70 years the County of Ventura has collected storm flow numbers from Sespe Creek. The highest recorded flow in Sespe Creek was 85,300 cubic feet a second (cfs), which occurred in 2005. FEMA and the County’s Watershed Protection District currently recognize the 100-year flood flow calculation at 98,000 cfs. The Sespe Creek levee was designed to protect against a flow of 121,000 cfs. The new 100-year flood flow FEMA is proposing is 135,000 cfs. That is an increase of approximately 3158 percent in calculated flow from a watershed which is essentially unchanged from the date the levee was completed. Temporary issues, such as sediment build-up, need to be acknowledged as short term concerns and not permanent problems.

The City has begun working with our Federal representatives to help them understand what impacts we will feel if the proposed FEMA calculations are not reconsidered and revised to more accurately reflect historic flows in Sespe Creek. To date, as a City, we have met with the City of Santa Paula, Supervisor Kathy Long’s office and contacted Supervisor John Flynn to gain their support in our efforts. On Tuesday, City Manager Tom Ristau, Deputy City Manager Bill Bartels, Council Member Scott Lee and I met with Senator Boxer’s Senior Field Representative, Adolfo Bailon, to enlist the Senator’s assistance at the Federal level. We will also be contacting Congressman Elton Gallegly’s office to further our request for reasonableness and assistance. As City leadership we are doing everything we can to seek assistance and relief from what appears to be an unsupported change in the flow numbers. I believe that historical data will support our claims that the proposed numbers are not reasonable and that FEMA should recalculate the 100-year flood flow event numbers. Additional studies will be conducted and it is our hope that through a comprehensive review process we will find that the Sespe Creek levee can continue to serve the City and its residents into the future.

In the event our efforts fail, we will have to search for solutions to this issue. Possible solutions include revising the levee so that it meets FEMA standards and/or removing debris from the river bottom so that freeboard on the levee can be reclaimed. Any solution will require funding and great effort on all our part to complete. I will continue to provide updates to this important issue as we work to solve this problem. If citizens have questions or comments I can be reached by email at sconaway@ci.fillmore.ca.us.

Steve Conaway
Mayor, City of Fillmore