Green Light Given to Flood Basin Work : Newbury Park: The county must monitor the effects of the pumping on a nearby wetland.

The excavation of a flood control basin in Newbury Park can continue, state and federal resource officials said Thursday, but only if the county limits the amount of water it pumps out of the basin and promises to monitor the effects on a nearby wetland.

The informal agreement came during a meeting Thursday morning that included representatives from the state Fish and Game Department, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U. S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Ventura County Flood Control District, which is building the basin.

The county had initially intended to remove ground water from the basin by continuously pumping it into a storm drain for up to five years without studying the impact on the neighboring wetland.

Amid protests from members of the Thousand Oaks City Council and concerns from environmentalists, the resource agencies intervened.

The basin is being built to catch hillside debris that could clog flood channels. Once vegetation has returned to the fire-scarred hills, it will be converted to a water-detention basin, which would slow the flow of floodwater during a major storm. Its cost is estimated at $878,453.

As part of Thursday’s interim agreement, the county can continue to pump ground water that collects in the basin as a result of its excavation. Once the ditch is completed, probably within six weeks, pumping will resume only when necessary.

“We’d be opposed to pumping the ditch on a long-term basis,” said Ken Wilson, an environmental specialist with state Fish and Game. “But we can allow them to pump, even into the storm drains, for the time necessary to complete the project. It shouldn’t have an impact on the wetlands.”

County Public Works Director Art Goulet agreed. “It will only need to be pumped if we’ve heard a long-range forecast calling for heavy rains.”

Wilson said the county also tentatively agreed to look for ways to rechannel the water it pumps into a nearby stream.

Also, the county will drill 40-foot monitoring wells once construction is complete to study the impact of the basin on local ground water. The wells will provide information on water levels and direction of flow.

“What we’re trying to do is make the ground-water regime continue as it was doing before,” Goulet said.

Officials from both the county and resource agencies said the meeting was amicable and fruitful, despite a week of heated debate over the ditch. A final plan on how to handle the basin will be developed within the next month, Wilson said.

“I feel very certain they (county officials) recognize the importance of protecting those wetlands,” Wilson said. “They were receptive and listened to our ideas, and we were receptive and listened to their ideas.

“I think a lot of the problems we’ve had were because there just wasn’t complete communication,” he added.

Still not certain is the project’s funding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency had agreed to pay 75% of its cost, but last week froze the funds over environmental concerns.

Goulet said he believed that the county will eventually get the FEMA funds.

“We were never going to get the FEMA money until the work was done anyway,” he said. “FEMA wants Soil Conservation Services to do an environmental impact report. That’s fine. They can use the data flood control has already been gathering.”