Marin City Has Long Felt Its Flooding Woes Were Neglected. That’s About to Change

Marin City is one step closer to a solution for the floodwaters that often block the neighborhood’s only entrance and exit after the federal government formalized a partnership with local advocates to completely fund a potential fix of up to $13.5 million.

Residents in the unincorporated Marin County community — a bowl of a town sandwiched between steep mountains and Highway 101, just 5 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge — have advocated for solutions for decades. But with a historic Black population and generations’ worth of concerns over racial inequities, many have long felt neglected by government officials.

“Things are lining up, and all I know is that too many folks have to walk through all of this contaminated water,” said Terrie Harris-Green, executive director of Marin City Climate Resilience and Health Justice.

Harris-Green’s nonprofit and the Marin City Community Services District, where she sits as a board member, submitted a proposal to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program that will pay the total cost of selected small public works projects. The proposal was one of a dozen nationwide — and the only one in California — to be chosen out of a pool of 196.

This week, the Corps walked Marin City with community members to discuss the flooding issues and next steps, knowing that other agencies are already working on potential solutions.

The main area that floods during storms is off Donahue Street and impedes access to the Highway 101 ramps.

Juanita Edwards, acting general manager for the Marin City Community Services District, wrote in the proposal that the project “is about alleviating the persistent anxiety our community faces when it comes to accessing essential services outside our area.”

In a supporting letter to the Corps, Marin County Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters said “the proper drainage infrastructure was never installed” in Marin City, and flooding occurs “even during non-rain events due to high tides, which are occurring with more frequency due to climate change.”

‘Almost 100 years of flooding’

Nearly 3,000 people — 63% people of color — dwell within Marin City’s 344 acres. About 13% live below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, even though the area is part of Marin County, one of the richest in the country.

In the 1940s, shipbuilders constructed rows of motel-style apartments to house thousands of workers who built warships in Sausalito for the Navy during World War II. Many families, including Harris-Green’s, migrated to Marin City from the Midwest and the South for work in the shipyards, then stayed after the war.

Harris-Green has advocated for flood solutions for decades, to little avail, she said — but now the hard work is beginning to pay off.

“It’s almost 100 years now of flooding that’s been happening in Marin City,” she said. “I’m 75 and have had to splash through all this water. Thank God the Army Corps will address this issue for us.”

Even with the federal funding being officially announced, Harris-Green said she would remain dogged about making sure the project becomes a reality because the community has been promised funding and solutions in the past that never came to fruition.

“I appreciate that we have allies; it’s just so refreshing,” she said. “People know that we haven’t gotten anywhere, and there are so many discriminatory things that have happened to us. I’m going to continue to fight on behalf of Marin City. I hope this project brings life back to the people of Marin City.”

Marin City wasn’t originally on the list of the places the Corps was considering funding. But Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) helped convince the agency to include it with a letter of support, noting that the community was redlined and “qualifies for reparations and should be given high priority” because of the racism that residents “have suffered for many generations.”

Huffman said he is excited about the project because Marin City residents will have a direct say in planning for future flooding.

“This grant is going to the community; it’s not going to the county or anyone higher up in the bureaucracy,” he said. “They will be at the table driving feasibility studies and plans for the design and construction of a solution in their own community.”

The first step of the Corps’ work is collecting data from all the entities already working on flooding issues in Marin City, including Marin County, Caltrans and community groups. After the Corps completes the community work, it will create a project feasibility report, and shovels on the ground could occur in a few years, said Jessica Ludy, flood risk program manager and environmental justice coordinator with the San Francisco District of the Army Corps of Engineers.

“The moment that we got word that this project was selected, I was beside myself with joy and so much hope,” Ludy said. “It’s awesome that we are able to remove the barrier of cost for Marin City.”

Ludy, who is spearheading the project for the Corps, said her first goal is to understand what work each agency is already doing and to speed up the process for a solution for Marin City’s flooding woes. Over the past few years, she and her colleagues have become “Marin City champions” and will do “everything they can to ensure the project is a success,” she said.

Reducing flood risk

Marin City is among the most vulnerable to climate-driven flooding in the Bay Area. The neighborhood of primarily one-story homes and apartments abuts Richardson Bay, separated from the water by Highway 101 and a narrow bike trail. A single tidal gate allows water to escape into the bay, and it’s regularly filled with sand and debris. When atmospheric rivers dump rainwater, the water from the gate backs up into the channel under the freeway and floods the only road in and out of Marin City, rendering it impassable by car.

In October 2021, an atmospheric river parked over Marin City, turning looping residential streets into rivers, swamping Donahue Street, and filling the freeway underpass and the only entrance into the city. Residents were forced to walk through the floodwaters to enter the neighborhood.

By the end of the century, climate change may make these deluges from the sky up to 37% wetter, according to a June 2022 study by Bay Area climate scientists, and the flooding in Marin City far worse. At the same time, warming temperatures could push San Francisco Bay up from sea level rise — more than 6 feet by the end of the century in the extreme scenarios.

Local and state agencies are working on at least two other existing projects to shore up the flooding in Marin City. Earlier this year, the Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District began a $2.5 million project, with some state funding, to install a temporary portable pump station to reduce the severity of flooding on Donahue Street. The idea is that before a big storm, crews would deploy the pumps to remove water from the street and dump it into a nearby pond. The county notes the portable pump station could be operating mid-winter.

While the portable pumps are only an interim solution, the district is pursuing a long-lasting solution — a permanent pump station, a floodwall and storm drainage upgrades — costing around $12 million. Separate from these efforts, the district also has a watershed-wide Marin City Stormwater Plan with a list of projects needing funding.

Caltrans is also reenvisioning the flood-prone stretch of Highway 101 along Richardson Bay between Marin City and Tamalpais Valley. This project could include the area that floods in Marin City. Some ideas could transform a popular bike path into a levee and raise Highway 101 to prevent flooding. The project is years out, and the reconstruction could cost nearly $2 billion. The agency is currently seeking funding for the project.

Ludy, with the Corps, said her job now is to work with the community, the county and agencies to speed up a solution for Marin City with federal funding.

“Ideally, we want to leverage one another’s resources for the best possible outcome for Marin City,” she said. “We intend to provide support and help take meaningful action to reduce flood risk in a community that’s been dealing with flood challenges for way too long.”