A long-awaited Contra Costa County watershed restoration project could be underway soon.
The Walnut Creek watershed is the largest in Contra Costa County, and covers eight cities and 300,000 residents.
The portion of the creek just before it reaches Suisun Bay has been accumulating sediment and silt, which affects how well it could withstand a flood. So that debris has got to go, but just removing that would disturb the wildlife in the creek and neighboring marshlands.
A proposed restoration project would increase tidal wetland area, and improve conditions for creek wildlife like Chinook salmon and steelhead. It would also add more levees to control potential flooding, expand public hiking trails, and may include a bridge and a spot to launch boats.
The lowest bid for the project came in at $11.285 million, from a civil engineering firm specializing in wetland enhancement and restoration projects. The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is meeting Tuesday morning to officially make its decision.
