Barriers Stem Tide of Mud : Environment: Crews worked around-the-clock to install flood-control measures in Pasadena Glen. But officials warn that heavy rains could pose major problems.

Hastily erected flood-control measures kept back mudflows in the Pasadena Glen during last week’s rains.

In an effort to prevent mudflows such as the one that clogged the Glen on Feb. 7, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service installed debris barriers along the channel, built a second trash rack at the top of the glen to catch large objects including logs and boulders, and is continuing work on a concrete-lined channel down Winifred Canyon, an adjoining canyon that flows into the glen.

In a race to beat the rains, crews worked around the clock for five days on the highest-priority projects, said Bob Dean, district manager of the Soil Conservation Service.

These included five of the seven debris barriers--metal pipes bolted to planks of wood that hold back mud and debris--and a second trash rack, a 50-foot-wide row of 8-inch metal pipes set several feet apart to catch the largest rocks and logs.

The existing trash rack, which was filled with boulders that bent its bars during the previous storm, was cleared and repaired. Crews resumed work on the Winifred Canyon channel, which had been undermined by tumbling debris.

John O’Neill, construction supervisor for the projects, said that although intermittent rains had slowed the work, the Winifred channel would be completed by the end of this week.

Crews also dredged the channel along the glen, which filled with muck during the last mudflow. Dean said this allowed water and debris to flow smoothly to the bottom instead of backing up during the past week’s rains.

Rainfall to the Glen totaled three inches over the past two weeks, Dean said--probably not enough to cause a mudflow like the one two weeks ago. But worse could come in heavier rains, he said.

“Compared to the mudflow that’s going to come out of there I don’t think we’ve seen a mudflow (yet),” he said.

Dean said he hopes the new flood-control measures, which together cost between $250,000 and $300,000, will withstand a four- to five-inch rainfall. That depends on the intensity of the downpour, he said. For instance, seven inches of rainfall in a week would not be a problem, but that amount in a day could be disastrous.

“I feel a lot more secure, and it seems every week or so we keep getting closer and closer to having a more stable environment here,” Glen resident Brad Dickason said.