Slide Threat Expedites Project to Shield Homes : Fire aftermath: County races to build catchment basins in Newbury Park and Santa Paula canyons.

Ventura County engineers are racing to design and construct sediment catchment basins that will protect hundreds of homes in Santa Paula and Thousand Oaks from potential mudslides this winter.

After last fall’s fires scorched hillsides in both cities, stripping away the vegetation that holds soil in place, more than 200 houses and a mobile home park with space for 150 coaches are considered in danger from mudslides if a heavy rainstorm hits, said Arthur Goulet, the county’s public works director.

Seven bridges in Santa Paula and stretches of California 126 could be flooded with sodden soil if rains push the dirt down denuded hillsides in Fagan and Adams canyons, Goulet said.

And in the western end of Thousand Oaks, “there are substantial perils if we don’t take action soon,” City Manager Grant Brimhall said.

Although the basins would not be completed until late February, toward the end of this winter’s rainy season, flood control officials said the earthen structures would help protect houses for the next four years. By that time, plant roots should develop enough to anchor the hillsides, officials said.

To avert--or at least minimize--the danger, the county’s public works department and flood control district plan to build three large catchment basins, one in each Santa Paula canyon and one along the south branch of the Arroyo Conejo in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood of Newbury Park.

The county had originally planned a more comprehensive program, but scrapped a few less-critical basins to focus on the hillsides ravaged in the Green Meadow and Steckel fires.

The scaled-down effort will cost about $2.25 million--not counting the price of purchasing land for the basins, which could run to several hundred thousand dollars. The U.S. Soil Conservation Service will pay about $1.1 million for the Santa Paula project; the balance will come from the county and flood control district.

Normally, such projects would take up to nine months to design and build, but engineers have been coming to the office on weekends and working 12-hour days to draft blueprints. Construction crews will also have to put in considerable overtime to get all three basins completed by the target date of late February.

“There are quite a few homes in danger, especially on the west end of the county, and we’re already in the rainy season,” said Alex Sheydayi, deputy director of public works.

“We’re scrambling,” Sheydayi said. Because of the rush, county officials have not had time to complete appraisals on the Santa Paula properties where the basins will be located.

To ensure possession of the land, the Board of Supervisors this week voted to purchase the property using county powers of condemnation if necessary. Officials hope, however, to negotiate a fair price with the property owners instead of seizing the land through condemnation.

“If the appraisal is done by a good, respected appraiser, then there may not be a dispute about price,” agreed Robert Sawyer, an attorney representing Dickenson Ranch in Fagan Canyon. The county plans to build a catchment basin capable of holding 75,000 cubic yards of dirt on the Dickenson property, a citrus, avocado and cattle ranch north of Santa Paula.

Sawyer said his clients hope to consult with county officials on the basin’s design and, more important, on access to the site.

“This will be a large earthen dam going up . . . and it will be a permanent facility, so we want to minimize the impact on the ranch and make sure it’s as aesthetically pleasing as possible,” Sawyer said.

The Fagan Canyon basin will be built north of Santa Paula Street to protect 200 homes, two fuel pipelines, two bridges and a stretch of California 126. The Adams Canyon basin, roughly the same size, will be just west of the city, upstream of Foothill Road.

In Newbury Park, the basin will be constructed along Reino Road, a quarter of a mile north of Lynn Road. County officials said they expect to purchase the property from a developer soon, without initiating condemnation proceedings.

The flood control district had hoped to build the basin on National Park Service land near Potrero Road, but could not reach agreement with the federal agency on price, Sheydayi said.

The substitute site “is the best we can do,” Sheydayi said. “It may not be enough, but it’s going to be pretty close to what we wanted.”

As a bonus for Newbury Park residents, Sheydayi said the public works department could convert the ditch into a long-promised flood control basin once the mudslide threat recedes. With some tinkering--and up to $500,0000--the debris basin could be retooled to catch excess runoff from the southern branch of the Arroyo Conejo, he said.