As silt threatens to clog storm channels, Palm Desert OKs $1.5M for Hilary cleanup grants
Seven months after Hilary, a major storm that caused severe damage to parts of the Coachella Valley, the Palm Desert City Council voted Thursday to spend $1.5 million for a grant program to help homeowners’ associations and commercial property owners as they continue their efforts to clean up lingering silt.
The program, which will reimburse up to 35% of total costs, or up to $200,000 per eligible property, will cover only a narrow stretch about six miles long: the lands extending 250 feet south of Interstate 10 between Miriam Way and Washington Street.
The August 2023 storm, which had been a powerful hurricane at sea, brought floodwater and debris from the Morongo Valley basin that “overwhelmed the city’s storm drain system, catch basins, culverts and other infrastructure used to convey flood water,” according to a report from Randy Chavez, deputy director of public works. The flooding caused significant damage to some homes in the Spanish Walk neighborhood, where the city initially spent about $175,000 on cleanup efforts.
More: Study shows Hilary was no longer tropical storm over California, but caused massive damage
Chavez told the council Thursday that city staff are still “desilting” and repairing the channels in the area along the interstate, and they’ve noticed several properties still have silt from the historic storm that brought over five feet of debris and sediment to some city storm channels.
“These private properties also utilize the city's drainage system. ... What we found is this non-native material lines the channels and prevents water from percolating, therefore making these storm systems ineffective,” Chavez said. “In addition, when this material dries, it hardens almost like concrete, so (if) this material was to dry inside the storm drains, it'll eventually plug them, if not cleaned out on a regular basis.”
Funding for the program, which cannot be applied retroactively, will come from the city’s general fund emergency reserves. Applications will be open from April 8 through May 6, and will be available at palmdesert.gov/connect/hurricane-hilary.
Grant among several city initiatives post-storm
The $1.5 million grant program is among several efforts taken by the city to bolster and clean up the areas hardest hit by Hilary last year.
In December, the council approved a $4.63 million contract to upgrade and expand a major retention basin near the interstate, a project scheduled for completion later this year. That was in addition to $5.05 million the city council budgeted for its initial storm response, as well as for upgrades to the mid-valley channel’s infrastructure.
Another funding source — an $8 million state grant for the city to bolster flood retention basins south of Interstate 10 — has been jeopardized by proposed budget cuts included in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s January budget proposal, with the state facing an estimated $38 billion deficit (or possibly greater by some projections).
The fate of that grant, which was initially awarded by the Southern California Association of Governments as part of a state-funded program, will depend on how the state budget shakes out this summer. The governor is required to release his revised budget by mid-May, while the state Legislature must pass its budget bill by June 15.
Tom Coulter covers the cities of Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Desert OKs $1.5 million for post-Hilary cleanup near I-10
