The Living River Flood Project has transformed the River & waterfront in Napa. It has restored mudflats and tidal marsh, creating habitat for fish, birds and wildlife, and places to explore and enjoy.
Flood Project overview
The Goals and Objectives for a “Living” Napa River System, based on geomorphic, water quality and habitat considerations was completed for the Community Coalition for a Napa River Flood Management Plan on July 2, 1996. The document was developed by the “Water Quality/Fish Habitat” design review workgroup, co-chaired by Leslie Ferguson, San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and Jim Swanson, California Department of Fish and Game.
The document played a critical role in the final design of the Napa River Flood Management Plan because it provided the local community with a scientifically based reference document that could be used to guide project design. A “living” Napa River system functions properly when it conveys variable flows and stores water in the floodplain, balances sediment input with sediment transport, provides good quality fish and wildlife habitat, maintains good water quality and quantity and provides recreation and aesthetic values.
A “living” Napa River conveys equilibrium and harmony with all that it touches and resonates this through the human and natural environment.
One of the goals is for activities along the Napa River to use geomorphic principles involving river channel geometry and sediment transport dynamics, taking into account the differences between estuarine and riverine reaches. The overall objective is to maintain a long-term, sustaining river ecosystem that is a “living” Napa River system.
— Karen Rippey