Funding agreement with federal government will jump-start Pajaro River levee repairs

A long-planned project to protect the Pajaro and Watsonville communities from another major flood took a big step forward with the signing of an agreement between a local flood control agency and the federal government to begin funding the reconstruction of the Pajaro River levee system. 

Elected representatives on Tuesday joined members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and representatives from the state’s Department of Water Resources in Watsonville to mark the signing of the agreement, which will bring protection to an area that sustained major impacts from flooding in March, when a 110-foot section of the levee near Pajaro overtopped.