Levee breech on Martinez shoreline restores water to Pacheco Marsh after 2 decades

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Oct. 30, 2021)  — Normally, a levee break and the sound of rushing water is not an occasion for speeches and cheering.

But the morning of Oct. 29 was different. The break was deliberate and the cause of a joyful welcome-home for Suisun Bay.

Emotions ran high as excavators cut through the levee and waters rushed in to reclaim its rightful place in the 212-acre Pacheco Marsh on the Martinez shoreline and the Lower Walnut Creek watershed.

With the return of the water, vegetation will grow rapidly, and the marsh will quickly repopulate with migrating birds and spawning fish.

(Drone footage courtesy John Muir Land Trust)

The $24.5 million project is the culmination of a 20-year partnership between the John Muir Land Trust and the Contra Costa County Flood Control District with the cooperation of multiple other agencies. Marathon Petroleum donated the 18-acres that completed the project.

$5 million has been set aside for public access with miles of trails, vistas, bird blinds, a kayak launch and education facility. The goal is to open the marsh for recreation by 2023.

For more information on the John Muir Land Trust and the Pacheco Marsh, go to jmlt.org.