2 County Water Projects Go to Reagan

Two water projects--one to reduce the flood hazard from the Santa Ana River and another to dredge sections of Upper Newport Bay--are before President Reagan as part of the omnibus public works bill, and local congressmen are predicting he will sign it into law.

The legislation, passed at the end of the congressional session, earmarks $809 million as the federal share of the $1.09-billion Santa Ana River project, the largest item on the list.

The river, which originates in San Bernardino County, transverses Riverside County and runs the length of Orange County, is considered to be the greatest potential flood hazard west of the Mississippi. It normally is dry but could fill and overflow during unusually heavy rains.

The bill also includes $3.15 million for dredging sections of Upper Newport Bay, both to make navigation easier through a central channel and to increase the tidal action in the bay’s upper reaches.

The entire cost of the project is expected to be $3.5 million, the difference to be paid by local sources.

The inclusion of the projects in the omnibus bill does not guarantee funding. Money must be approved in a separate appropriations bill. The dredging project also is subject to approval by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Santa Ana River normally is dry, but during the last 20 years there have been two deluges that threatened serious flooding along its Orange County section.

The Army Corps of Engineers has estimated that another serious flood along the watercourse could cause more than 3,000 deaths and $14 billion in damage in Orange County alone.

The proposed river improvements would protect against flood from storms of the magnitude that occur only once each 170 years. Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) has said he believes President Reagan will sign the bill. So has James McCormick, Orange County’s lobbyist in Washington.

Bill Schreiber, district representative for Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach), added that the Army Corps of Engineers seems likely to concur with the inclusion of the Upper Newport Bay project.