Panel Finds Disaster Preparation Lacking

Minutes after the Orange County Grand Jury warned that residents are unprepared for floods and earthquakes, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday received reports that the county needs to raise up to $2.3 billion for flood-control costs in the next 15 years.

In a 4 1/2-page report issued early Tuesday morning, the grand jury urged county officials to aggressively distribute information about disaster preparedness and take “immediate steps” to protect a key county complex in Orange from Santa Ana River flood waters.

Known as the Manchester Complex on The City Drive in Orange, the site backs onto the river and includes the county Emergency Communications Center, Juvenile Hall, Juvenile Court, Animal Shelter and, a few hundred feet north, the UCI Medical Center.

‘Vulnerable to Disaster’

“The inhabitants of Orange County are highly vulnerable to widespread disaster due to two local geographic features,” the grand jury stated, citing local earthquake faults and the flood danger posed by the Santa Ana River . . . .

“The general public is unaware of the potential dangers with the county.”

However, the panel offered no specific suggestions for educating the public about the dangers or for protecting the Manchester Complex.

County Environmental Management Agency Director Murray Storm said he doubts “anything practical can be done short of building the Santa Ana River Flood Control Project” to lessen the flood threat there.

The $1.2-billion Santa Ana River project, which includes raising the height of Prado Dam near Corona about 15 feet, widening and cementing the river channel to the ocean, has been stalled in Congress since preliminary design work.

River Bank Fortified

The river bank already is more heavily fortified with levees and berms at the Manchester site than elsewhere, according to Carl Nelson, EMA’s public works director.

“There are probably some other things that we could do, and we don’t really have a plan for dealing with the specific location, so that’s probably why they recommended that we do something,” Nelson said. “I’d have to take a look at it and see how likely the river is to overflow there and get into the Manchester complex itself . . . . I’m sure we’ll get on it and prepare an intelligent response.”

Panel members connected with the report could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Only minutes after the grand jury issued its report, supervisors received financial studies on flood-control costs indicating the county faces a $2-billion-plus shortfall, even assuming aid from both the state and federal governments.

Legislation Sought

Anticipating the results of the studies, the board had asked state Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) to introduce legislation that would allow the county to use either bonds or benefit-assessment districts to finance its 35% share of the $1.2-billion Santa Ana River project and the $1.2 billion needed to expand and shore up other storm channels and culverts. In assessment districts, residents or businesses that would benefit from a project are assessed fees to help pay the cost. Seymour’s legislation is pending.

A cover letter to the supervisors stated that the study of the Santa Ana River Flood Control project “concludes that the county’s share, assuming a mandated 35%, will be between $681,146,000 and $1,073,640,000, depending on the length of time it takes to construct the project.”

The letter also stated that the separate study showed it would cost another $1.2 billion (without adjustments for inflation) to upgrade the flood control system that is not related to the river.

“Normal revenue available to the Orange County Flood Control District will not be sufficient to keep pace with inflation costs and eliminate most flood hazards in reasonable time,” the letter stated.

An accompanying flood-control study reiterated several previously publicized reports that have pinpointed Huntington Beach as the populated area most vulnerable to storm damage. Much of the city is situated on lowlands on the county’s flood plain.