CITY GETS FEDERAL FUNDS FOR FLOODS; BARRIER TO BE INSTALLED ON RIVER EMBANKMENTS.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

Federal emergency funds will aid the city in protecting Soledad Canyon Road from floods and restoring Santa Clara River embankments that were destroyed by El Nino rains.

Emergency Relief Restoration funds from the Federal Highway Administration will relieve 88 percent of the city's costs for engineering and design services for the project, which calls for a permanent barrier along the river embankment to prevent floods on a walking trail, Soledad Canyon Road and Saugus Speedway property, said city engineer Christopher Price.

Flooding has plagued the area since the 1993-94 El Nino storm season, when collected rainwater washed out embankments at the river's sharp bend across Soledad from the Saugus Speedway. The city since then has placed such temporary barriers as large boulders on the river bank there, but they eventually eroded when heavy rains returned in later years, according to city officials.

``In order to receive federal funds, the city had to come up with some type of permanent fix to this problem,'' Price said. ``We're looking at a couple of ways to do that, because we don't want to have to fix this again in a few years.''

Price said a favorable option is a grouted riprap, that is, large piles of rocks anchored to the embankment with cement. Another consideration would be soil cement - a layered mixture of cement and soil.

A third option would be to construct a large concrete wall at the eroded embankment, he said, but that solution would ruin the view of the normally dry riverbed.

The Federal Highway Administration is contributing $34,669 toward the city's local match of $4,491, said Price. The total project cost has not been determined and will depend on the materials and design selected for the barrier.

The City Council last week awarded a $50,000 contract for embankment restoration designs to Pacific Advanced Engineering Inc. and set aside a $7,500 contingency fund for the project.

The 1997-98 El Nino storm season dropped 50 inches of rain on the Santa Clarita Valley, causing heavy damage to roads and private property where flooding was heavy. By comparison, the area last winter received about 13 inches of rainfall.

Surface water flow near the Saugus Speedway caused the most severe flooding on Soledad Canyon Road in 1993, said Price, and forced the road to be temporarily closed.