Poso Creek must be top priority for state flood funding, says McFarland mayor

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Several flood safety projects in the San Joaquin Valley will get $21.5 million in state funding, half of what proponents had hoped for.

It’s not known yet which projects that money will pay for but McFarland Mayor Saul Ayon said work on Poso Creek “…absolutely must be the top priority.”

“We’re talking about 3,000 residents,” Ayon said of the importance of focusing on Poso Creek. “Wherever there are families and communities, that needs to be the top priority. Otherwise, I’ll be asking some hard questions.”

The money is slated for “floodplain and habitat restoration projects in the counties of Kern, Kings, and Tulare,” according to the trailer bill that was ultimately passed. The money will go to the state Wildlife Conservation Board, which will solicit bids for projects so how much Poso may get is “…still a question mark,” said Alex Karolyi, a spokesman for River Partners, a nonprofit that works on flood plain restoration projects throughout the state.

**McFarland residents spent hours sandbagging around their homes in anticipation of flood waters from Poso Creek in March 2023. Lois Henry / SJV Water**

The original legislation, introduced by State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) had sought $43 million from Proposition 4, the 2024 $10 billion Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness and Clean Air Bond Act, to pay for a number of projects in Kern, Kings and Tulare counties.

Projects under Hurtado’s original bill would have included:

• $5 million for enhancement and restoration of floodplains along the upper Kaweah River in Tulare County.
• $2 million for enhancement of Panorama Vista Preserve along the Kern River in Bakersfield.
• $20 million for acquisition and restoration of floodplains along Poso Creek in Kern County.
• $16 million for acquisition and restoration of floodplains along the North and South forks of the Kings River in Kings County.

The now shrunken pot of $21.5 million would only cover a fraction of those projects.

Ayon said it should all go to Poso Creek so that low-income residents in Pond and McFarland don’t have to fear being flooded out again. Many of those residents, he added, have to carry supplemental flood insurance at up to $1,800 a year, a hefty economic hit.

“That would be a double win for our community,” he said of prioritizing Poso. “Improved safety and relieving a financial burden.”

Hurtado will hold a press conference Oct. 17 in McFarland to discuss the flood funding in more detail.

Poso Creek is dry most of the time but can become a raging waterway in hours under the right snow and rain conditions.

It has overrun its banks numerous times flooding homes and businesses in McFarland and the tiny village of Pond.

In 1998, Poso overran its banks and washed through a dairy, inundating homes with mud and manure. One of those homes belonged to Ayon’s parents and he remembers the muck in vivid detail.

“We’ve been dealing with this for years,” Ayon told SJV Water in 2023. “No one has ever addressed it for the long term. I’m asking everyone, ‘OK, how do we fix it?’”

Poso threatened McFarland again in 2023, but did minimal damage thanks to sumps built south of the town after the 1998 floods.

The sumps eventually overflowed but the city had time to prepare with pumps to move water away from homes, Ayon said

The tiny town of Pond wasn’t so lucky.

The Poso overran its banks at Highway 43 where a massive pile of debris clogged the creek bed. Flood water rushed four miles to the north and swept through the small town twice during the week of March 13, 2023.

The trailer bill also included $5 milion for flood protection infrastructure projects in Miles and Bear creeks in Merced County. In 2023, Miles Creek overran its banks and flooded out the small town of Planada, where residents are still struggling to rebuild.