Flood Control Channel Stalls; Added Cost Cited : Thousand Oaks: Contractors have begun lining the walls with rocks to prevent loose soil from slipping into the crater.

A flood control project that prompted protests from neighbors who feared that it would drain a Thousand Oaks wetland will take an extra six weeks to complete and cost an additional $160,000, county officials said.

During construction of the flood control basin, which was originally scheduled to be completed this week, contractors have been continuously pumping ground water from the land next to the environmentally sensitive area and sending it through an underground pipe into a storm drain.

The pumping could seriously harm the wetland if it goes on for too long, a state regulator said.

“If they continue pumping into the dry months, and there is a drought, there’s a good possibility the water-bearing soils will dry out,” said Ken Wilson, an environmental specialist with the state Department of Fish and Game.

“We don’t want to see the areas downstream of this project being desiccated because of some construction delays,” he said.

County officials said the delays were caused by problems with loose soil around the 30-foot-deep crater, which was excavated next to Reino Road between Lynn Road and Kimber Drive. Contractors have begun lining the walls with rocks to prevent the loose soil from slipping into the crater.

When completed, the basin is supposed to catch debris as it flows down flood channels, to prevent the channels from clogging during a big rainstorm. The project was approved as part of emergency measures taken to prevent flooding after the Green Meadow fire.

The six-week effort to line the basin with rocks will increase the price of the project from $878,453 to more than $1 million, according to Ed Gunen, division engineer for the Ventura County Flood Control District.

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And, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to pay 75% of the project cost, that money has been withheld until an environmental review is done. In addition, the cost increase will need to be negotiated, FEMA spokesman Russ Edmonston said.

“Right now, payment for the whole project is on hold, so I’m not sure what will happen with the increase,” he said.

But Gunen said he is confident that the initial costs of the project will be covered and that FEMA will pay the $160,000 in cost overruns.

However, if FEMA refuses to pay the additional costs, that burden would fall on the flood control district.

“We have the funds available to pay for that, if need be,” said Art Goulet, the county’s director of public works. “But we’re hoping FEMA will agree to cover it.”

Goulet said he could authorize the additional funds for the project because of its emergency nature.

The County Board of Supervisors has not been involved in funding aspects of the project. But supervisors received a letter regarding environmental concerns about the basin at this week’s board meeting.

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The May 10 letter from Thousand Oaks Mayor Elois Zeanah sharply criticized the flood control district for failing to perform an environmental review before beginning construction of the basin.

She requested that the supervisors “consider completing the environmental assessment and analysis prior to the completion of the project.”

Goulet said a response to Zeanah’s letter has not yet been prepared.

But Gunen said the county began studying the ground-water’s movement last week after installing three monitoring wells near the basin. It will be several weeks before data from the wells will show whether continued pumping of ground water will harm the wetland, he said.

“It’s not going to do any good to have an environmental analysis after all the damage has been done,” Zeanah said. “It sounds to me like the county has not been responsive to our concerns or the concerns of the constituents.”