Plumas Corp reports that quick action last month helped protect American Valley Community Service District’s Quincy-area wastewater infrastructure.
Following the wet December weather, in early January a large, mature cottonwood fell into Spanish Creek adjacent to the AVCSD wastewater plant. The tree pushed stream flow directly at the exposed, vertical stream bank on AVCSD property and was threatening to damage its wastewater treatment infrastructure, said Plumas Corp.
Fearful that creek levels would rise during the next big rainstorm and erode the stream bank into the storage pond, releasing wastewater into the creek, AVCSD manager Katie Nunn contacted Plumas Corp Jan. 8 seeking emergency assistance. Within two weeks of receiving the request, Plumas Corp watershed project manager Jeanie Hinds had secured emergency permits and lined up contractors Wilburn Construction and Toppers Tree Service to do the work.
Plumas Corp said the initial concept was to break down the work into two actions: an emergency action to address the immediate threat and a secondary action to address channel instability outside of what could be covered under an emergency notification. To remove the tree, access to the creek had to be granted through the private property on the other side of the stream.
The week of Jan. 26 heavy equipment was brought in through the private property and a ramp down to a gravel bar was constructed so equipment could reach the tree in the water. The tree was then cut 10 to 15 feet above the root wad and the upper branches and trunks were removed from the channel. The root wad and submerged parts of the tree were pulled out with an excavator. The vertical bank that was threatening AVCSD property was then rebuilt and armored with large boulders.
Hinds, said “I couldn’t have gotten the job done without our team of resourceful and hardworking local contractors. The private landowners were also incredibly gracious and supportive of our work.”
Plumas Corp said additional work to protect the streambanks along Spanish Creek is needed, but under the emergency authorizations everything that could be done was accomplished.
Nunn said she was appreciative of and impressed with Plumas Corp’s timeliness: “Thankfully there was no real winter weather to speak of in January. We would have never gotten this done so quickly without Plumas Corp’s assistance.”
