Flood zone faces gap of $3.5 mil for major projects

Tiburon Peninsula flood officials face a financial squeeze: They’ve approved spending $594,500 through June 2028 on routine operations such as pump replacement and creek maintenance, but county staff say the zone needs to close a $3.5 million gap between available funds and the cost of three major flood-protection projects.

The Marin Flood Control Zone 4 advisory board voted 4-0 at its Jan. 27 meeting to approve baseline budgets for fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28, covering July 1 this year through June 30, 2028. The board has one vacancy.

The operations budget covers expected expenses including contracts for creek maintenance and sediment removal, pump purchases, refurbishments and utilities for pump operations and maintenance, the county said in a staff report.

It does not include major projects such as restoring the East and West creeks, improvements to reduce flooding at and near Greenwood Cove Drive or upgrading a Strawberry Circle levee that was overtopped during historic high tides Jan. 3. Those projects are estimated to cost $9.4 million — $3.5 million more than the $5.9 million projected in Zone 4’s fund at the July 1, 2027, start of fiscal 2028.

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