December 19, 2019

Congratulations to Casitas Municipal Water District for winning the APWA Ventura County Chapter’s Public Works 2019 Project of the Year in the category of Disaster or Emergency Construction/Repair Projects for the Robles Forebay Restoration Project! Rincon supported Casitas on this project to relocate 50,000 cubic yards of sediment from the forebay within the Robles Diversion and Fish Passage Facility, which accumulated as a result of the Thomas Fire and subsequent high intensity storm events. The Robles Diversion and Fish Passage Facility allows the Ventura River floodplain to be diverted into Lake Casitas for drinking water for approximately 70,000 western Ventura County residents along with irrigation water for roughly 5,000 acres of crops, while providing a passage for fish, including the endangered southern California steelhead. The 50,000 cubic yards of trapped sediment in the forebay had to be removed before the start of the rainy season to optimize water diversion and fish ladder operations.

Rincon assisted Casitas with obtaining the regulatory permits and authorization for the project from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LARWQCB), United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).  Along with regulatory support, Rincon also prepared many technical reports, including the Sediment Management Plan, Biological Resources Assessment, Biological Assessment, Pre-Construction Survey Reports, Sensitive Species Protection Plan, Stream Diversion Plan, Dewatering Treatment Design Plan, and Hydrogeological Review for Dewatering Operations, for the project.

The success of this project is due to the timely collaboration between all parties involved, as the relocation of the sediment needed to happen prior to the start of the rainy season and had to be done with an unparalleled awareness of environmental sensitivity and is well deserving of the APWA Project of the Year award.