A small dam in Milliken Creek at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa Valley, California is a big worry for dozens of homeowners wanting to avoid a rainy season repeat of a devastating 2005 flood.
But its days appear to be numbered. The Napa County Board of Supervisors approved an agreement this week that should dismantle this potential flood-creating plug in 2016 or 2017.
The 1950s-era dam is hardly impressive, merely a concrete shell filled with dirt that creates a small, seasonal reservoir for irrigation. It has a corrugated steel culvert with a gate valve to allow stream flow when desired and carries a golf course road over the creek.
Modest as it is, removing the dam and doing associated work will cost more than a million dollars, in part because of the need to replace that dam-top road, county officials said.
Under the new deal, the money will come from a combination of taxpayers, homeowners in the flood-threatened neighborhood and the resort.
As a bonus, removing the dam will allow steelhead trout to swim upstream.
[Photo of Milliken Creek Bridge courtesy of Mapcarta.com]