183 



ing of federal assistance. (The 1980 

 census classified 64.5 percent of the 

 households in North Richmond as fe- 

 male-headed and below the poverty 

 level.) However, suburban develop- 

 ment in other parts of Contra Costa 

 County has made the county as a whole 

 one of the wealthiest in California. 

 Econorruc redevelopment and improve- 

 ment in the standard of living in North 

 Richmond are unlikely to be achieved 

 without a flood-control project. Al- 

 though the community has atypical 

 demographics because it is mostly com- 

 posed of minorities, the residents' val- 

 ues and goals reflect those of other 

 communities: They want opportuni- 

 ties, options, and environmental quali- 

 ty, and they want to have influence in 

 the decisions that affect them. If North 

 Richmond's need for flood control has 

 been met only with the greatest difficul- 

 ty by the federal water-project plan- 

 ning process, then something is wrong 

 with federal policies and practices. 



Early Efforts 



In the 1940s and early 1950s, flood- 

 ing along the Wildcat and San Pablo 

 creeks attracted attention to North 

 Richmond's need for flood control. By 

 1956, the Contra Costa County Flood 

 Control District had assessed that need 

 and issued a report calling for the im- 

 plementation of a flood-control proj- 

 ect. As a result, in the 1960 Rood Con- 

 trol Act. Congress authorized the U.S. 

 Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a 

 feasibility study for flood control on 

 the two creeks. At that time, the stan- 

 dard practice for reducing flood dam- 

 ages was to construct costly and envi- 

 ronmentally damaging reservoirs and 

 stream channels that carry more water 

 at a higher velocity than could be car- 

 red by the natural channels. However, 

 national experts in geography, hydrol- 

 ogy, engineering, and economics were 

 recommending that the federal govern- 

 ment broaden its approach to the re- 



The flora and fauna of San Pablo Creek marsh were threatened by a flood- 

 control plan of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 



Environment, Vol. 31 , No. 10 



