UPPER LAKE, Calif. – District Four Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry recently visited the location of the most important project for the restoration of Clear Lake: the Middle Creek Marsh.

More than 1,600 acres of land, farmed for a better part of a century and protected by battered levees, are the focus of federal, state, and local efforts to restore original wetlands.

These wetlands will slow the flow of nutrient-rich water and sediment to Clear Lake, providing flood protection, water quality improvement, wildlife habitat, groundwater recharge and recreational opportunities.

“It is important to see and walk through this project zone,” Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry stated, “the view reinforces the facts and figures. Economic development relies on improving the condition of the Lake and this project tops the list of actions to improve water quality.”

Aguiar-Curry was hosted by the Middle Creek Restoration Coalition, an alliance of local organizations and concerned citizens who are acting jointly to push for funding, design, and construction of the restored wetland at the mouth of the major creeks in the Clear Lake watershed.

Scotts, Clover and Middle creeks provide more than 50 percent of the water and more than 70 percent of the sediments to Clear Lake; nutrients in these sediments will slow, spread and become processed in Middle Creek Marsh. The action will slow the growth of nuisance algae and weeds in Clear Lake.

Planning for this project began in 1995, when Lake County applied for assistance from the United States Army Corps of Engineers: the Army Corps is the lead agency and the County’s Watershed Protection District is the sponsor.

Phil Moy, director of Lake County Water Resources, and Will Evans, former project manager, described the basic design and current status of the project.

“Basically the Corps will breach the levees and contour the land to return the water flow to its historic pattern,” said Evans.

The Watershed Protection District has purchased about half of the property in the project zone, most through funding of over $12 million through the Flood Protection Corridor Program from the State Department of Water Resources.

The district continues to apply for the remaining $15 million that is available. The coalition asked Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry to assist in determining the status of the District’s application.

The coalition also made her aware of the broad support in Lake County for the restoration of the marsh and thanked her for efforts in establishing the Blue-Ribbon Panel for Clear Lake improvement under Assembly Bill 101.

“The panel will be instrumental in moving Middle Creek and other projects forward on the basis of the best information,” said Aguiar-Curry.