The Health of Permanente Creek, and Plans When It Floods Presented Wednesday

GreenTown Los Altos is hosting a Permanente Creek Forum Wednesday at 7 p.m. where topics will include the health of the creek’s water and flood analysis.

Speakers include Brian Schmidt the area director for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Mike Hayden on flood analysis, and Alice Kaufman of Committee for Green Foothills will discuss Lehigh Permanente Cement lawsuits.

Much of Permanente Creek diverts to Stevens Creek, and there is concern that Lehigh, which is located in the Los Altos and Cupertino foothills above Permanente Creek, discharged illegal amounts of toxin into the water.

The water district has proposed significant flood control projects for Permanente Creek, which according to the agency “has not performed as well as anticipated in terms of diverting high water flows from Permanente Creek to Stevens Creek. The District expects the diversion channel to be viable for five to 10 years, at which time repair or reconstruction will be required.”

Separately, the water district announced Tuesday that the Independent Monitoring Committee (IMC) announced the release of the eleventh Annual Oversight Report on the status of the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Plan (Clean, Safe Creeks). The report highlights the district’s major accomplishments.

The committee was created when voters passed the November 2000 ballot measure, "Clean, Safe Creeks," creating a county-wide special parcel tax to pay for Santa Clara Valley Water District initiatives. The independent monitoring committee oversees the plan’s progress and ensures the outcomes are met in a cost efficient manner. 

Tuesday's forum will be held at Los Altos Neutra House at 181 Hillview Ave., Los Altos.