Massive levee project to protect Pajaro and Watsonville gets underway [Video]

PAJARO, Calif. – It was March 2023 when a levee burst, completely flooding the community of Pajaro in Monterey County. Now a massive new levee project is underway to give up to 100-year flood protection for Pajaro and surrounding communities.

On Monday, crews were at work cutting down huge eucalyptus trees where the first phase of the project will be built. A brand new levee will go in along Corralitos Creek in Watsonville and will be part of an overall 13-mile levee system which will be built or upgraded to give protection from the potential of a 100-year flood event.

“This is a huge project. Probably one of the biggest engineering projects this valley has seen probably since the construction of Highway 1,” said Mark Strudley, the executive director of the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency.

It was late at night on March 10th, 2023, that the levee upstream from Pajaro burst, flooding the entire community and forcing residents to evacuate …