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The Watershed Project, American Rivers, the City of Richmond, and Restoration Design Group are working together to design a solution to the flooding in the Rollingwood neighborhood. We know that this has been a long-time issue, so we applied for and received a grant from the Coastal Conservancy to determine the causes of the flooding, and design a solution.
The Watershed Project has hosted several opportunities for neighbors and community members to learn more about the project and get involved:
- Neighborhood Flood Study. A team of students went door to door in the neighborhood in July 2019 to let neighbors know about the project. They also asked residents to share their experiences with flooding and/or living next to the creek, to help us understand when and how the flooding happens.
- Community Workdays. In October 2019, we teamed up with neighbors to clear creek vegetation in preparation for a topographic survey, which helped us learn more about why the creek floods. Our permits only allowed us to clear enough vegetation to complete the survey, so this work is not expected to resolve the flooding issue yet. It’s going to take some time to develop and implement a solution to the flooding, but this topographic survey is an important first step.
- Community Design Charrettes. In December 2020, neighbors received a storybook with information about why the creek floods (based on what we found in the neighborhood flood study and topographic survey), and how we propose to reduce the flooding. We asked neighbors to share their preferences for which types trees they would like (or NOT like) to have alongside the creek near their home, and revised the planting plan based on their feedback.
Latest Updates
We hope to reduce neighborhood flooding and make Rheem Creek a more enjoyable place to live next to, by making a plan to remove sediment from the creek and plant native trees and plants. We have submitted several applications for grant funding to implement the project, and will update this page when we have good news to share. In the meantime, please read the following resources to learn more about the history of Rheem Creek and flooding in the Rollingwood-Fairmede neighborhood:
Want more detail? View the concept design below:
Thank you to the neighbors who joined us for our community workday on October 19, 2019! We successfully cleared a few truckloads of vegetation and several bags of trash from the creek.
Thank you to the 42 neighbors along Greenwood Drive, Greenwood Court, Moyers Road, and Shane Drive who gave interviews to our canvassing team! Your experiences, photos and videos will be vital to understanding when and how flooding happens, and informing a solution. Click here to read an article about what residents shared with us.
Are you interested in receiving email updates about the project, including opportunities to get involved? Email Anne at anne@thewatershedproject.org and ask to be added to the Neighborhood Interest List.
For more information:
Click here for a project fact sheet in English or Spanish
Contact Anne Bremer (anne@thewatershedproject.org or 510-680-3367)
City of Richmond project web page
