5.9 Hydrology and Water Quality
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5.9 Hydrology and Water Quality The hydrology and water quality evaluation presented in this section is based on Hydrology and Water Quality Technical Report prepared for the Project by Fuscoe Engineering on February 10, 2011. 5.9.1 HYDROLOGY Environmental Setting Regulatory Setting National Flood Insurance Act The National Flood Insurance Act established the National Flood Insurance Program, which is based on the minimal requirements for flood plain management and is designed to minimize flood damage within Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA). SFHAs are defined as areas that have a 1 percent chance of flooding within a given year, also referred to as the 100-year flood. According to the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the HTC Project site includes five different flood zones,1 as follows: • Zone "X" Other Areas (Areas determined to be outside the 0.2% annual chance floodplain [i.e., 500-year flood zone]) • Zone "X" Other Flood Areas (Areas of 0.2% annual chance flood; areas of 1% annual chance flood with average depths of less than 1 foot or with drainage areas less than 1 square more; and areas protected by levels from 1% annual chance flood) • Zone "A" (Special flood hazard areas subject to inundation by the 1% [100-year] annual chance flood event, but no base flood elevation has been determined) • Zone "AE" (Special flood hazard areas subject to inundation by the 1% [100-year] annual chance flood event, flood elevation has been determined). • Zone "AO" (Special flood hazard areas subject to inundation by the 1% [100-year] annual chance flood event, flood depth of 2 feet). As shown on Exhibit 5.9-1, portions of the Project site located near Trabuco Creek and Horno Creek are located within the 100-year floodplain. 1 FIRM No. 06059C443J (effective 12/2/2009) and FIRM No. 06059C0506J (effective 12/3/2009). Historic Town Center Master Plan EIR 5.9-1 Templeton Planning Group LEGEND Historic Town Center Master Plan Exhibit 5.9-1 San Juan Capistrano, CA EXISTING HYDROLOGY MAP 0 200’ 400’ 800’ TEMPLETON Studio One Eleven | Sargent Town Planning | Raimi + Associates | Transtech PLANNING GROUP Rabben/Herman Design Office | Keyser Marston Associates | TND Engineering Drainage and Flood Control Drainage and flood control structures and improvements in the Project vicinity are subject to review and approval by the City of San Juan Capistrano, for onsite local drainage facilities and improvements, and the County of Orange for regional drainage facilities and improvements. The regulatory and design frameworks pertaining to such facilities include the following: • County Regional Facilities – These are facilities owned, maintained and operated by the County with watersheds that cover at least 1,000 acres. County Regional Facilities must be designed to accommodate 100-year frequency storms, as outlined in the Orange County Hydrology Manual.2 • County Sub-regional Facilities – These are also County facilities, but consist of watersheds that range in size from 640 acres to 1,000 acres. Systems with tributary areas 640 acres or greater must be designed for a 100-year frequency storm event, as outlined in the Orange County Hydrology Manual. • City of San Juan Capistrano Local Facilities – These are facilities with watersheds less than 640 acres that are owned and maintained by the City of San Juan Capistrano. Facilities with tributary areas less than 640 acres must be designed for a 25-year frequency storm event, as outlined in the Orange County Hydrology Manual. The goal of the drainage plans and improvements proposed for the Project site is to provide 100- year return frequency flood protection as defined by the County of Orange and City of San Juan Capistrano. Both the County of Orange and the City of San Juan Capistrano consider this level of protection to be the combination of drainage systems and site grading that ensures all building pads for habitable structures and other non-flood proofed structures are set a minimum of 1-foot above the 100-year water surface elevation. This level of protection is based on the concept that local runoff from a 100-year storm event can be conveyed in a combination of street flow and storm drain capacity. Facilities serving as both City and County regional drainage facilities are subject to the stricter of the requirements and consequently must be designed to contain all the flow from 100-year frequency storm events. San Juan Creek Watershed Management Study In 2002, the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) prepared a San Juan Creek Watershed Management Study including hydrologic, hydraulic, and sediment studies for San Juan Creek, Trabuco Creek and Oso Creek. A multi-year rainfall-runoff model using LAPRE-1 and HEC-1 computer models was developed for existing conditions (Year 2000) and the future (Year 2050) for the watershed. Future-year peak discharges were estimated in order to assess potential 2 The Orange County Hydrology Manual provides the computational techniques and criteria for the estimation of runoff, discharges, and volumes for use in submittals of drainage system improvement plans, thereby achieving consistency between individual submittals and compatibility with the overall flood control plans for Orange County. Historic Town Center Master Plan EIR 5.9-3 Templeton Planning Group impacts of future development in the San Juan Creek watershed. The model was calibrated using discharge-frequency curves developed in the flood frequency analysis.3 The model results indicate a 100-year discharge of 52,200 cfs at the confluence of Trabuco Creek downstream of the HTC Project area (approximately 2,000 ft). In addition, the results indicate a 100-year discharge of 53,300 cfs of the San Juan Creek ocean outfall at Doheny State Beach. Of this discharge, approximately 35 percent of the total flow is contributed by Trabuco Creek (about 18,700 cfs) and its upstream tributaries. Of this amount, approximately 10 percent is contributed by Oso Creek (5,400 cfs), which joins Trabuco Creek upstream of the HTC Project area. Assuming future proposed development along this watershed, it is estimated that no significant increases in discharge are expected over the next 50 years. The study estimates only a 1.5 percent increase in flows in San Juan Creek (54,100 cfs for 100-year event) and a 3.1 percent increase in Trabuco Creek (19,300 cfs for 100-year event). Oso Creek was assumed to be fully built out and was not estimated to experience any future increase in peak discharge flows. The primary reason for the minimal increase in peak discharge between existing and future conditions is the requirement that all future development and redevelopment projects retain water on-site that is above the existing condition peak runoff conditions. This assumption extends up to the 100-year flood event. In addition, the local MS4 Storm Water Permit also requires additional retention and/or detention with slow-release of smaller more frequent storms in addition to the existing 100-year peak flow matching condition. Based on these requirements and the built-out condition of the watershed, significant increases in discharges within Trabuco Creek and San Juan Creek are not expected. Hydrologic Setting The HTC Master Plan is located within the larger San Juan Creek watershed, which drains approximately 159.98 square miles of southern Orange County. San Juan Creek headwaters originate in the Cleveland National Forest and ultimately discharges into the Pacific Ocean at Doheny Beach in the City of Dana Point. Major tributaries include Arroyo Trabuco (“Trabuco Creek”) and Oso Creek, as well as several smaller tributaries including Horno Creek within the project area. Under existing conditions, runoff from the HTC Project area drains into existing underground public storm drains that discharge either to Trabuco Creek, San Juan Creek or Horno Creek. Approximately 40% of the Project area including the Repositioning Area drains to Trabuco Creek at several different locations and the remainder, including most of the Revitalization Area and the Repositioning Area, drains to San Juan Creek at several locations. A small area of the Revitalization Area north of Ortega Highway and south of Spring Street drains directly to Horno Creek. Refer to Exhibit 5.9-2 for locations of the major subwatershed areas and drainage facilities within the vicinity of the HTC Project area. 3 US Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District. (2002, August). San Juan Creek Watershed Management Study, Orange County California. Feasibility Phase F-5 Report. Historic Town Center Master Plan EIR 5.9-4 Templeton Planning Group LEGEND PROJECT AREA FEMA 100-YR FLOOD PLAIN Historic Town Center Master Plan Exhibit 5.9-2 San Juan Capistrano, CA FEMA 100-YEAR FLOOD PLAIN 0 200’ 400’ 800’ TEMPLETON Studio One Eleven | Sargent Town Planning | Raimi + Associates | Transtech PLANNING GROUP Rabben/Herman Design Office | Keyser Marston Associates | TND Engineering Subwatershed A – San Juan Creek Watershed Subwatershed A covers 63 acres and is the area bounded by Ortega Highway to the north, the I-5 Freeway to the east, Avenue La Paloma to the south and the railroad tracks to the west. This area includes all of the Repositioning Area and almost all of the Revitalization Area (87%). Drainage collection occurs in a variety of ways. The upper portion north of Del Obispo (sub- areas A1-A4; 37 acres) are collected into a 36” reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) that starts in Del Obispo and ultimately drains south within Camino Capistrano. A small area (sub-area A-5; 6.0 acres) drains directly into San Juan Creek to the east. The tributary south of Del Obispo (sub- area A-6; 20.1 acres) drains in a southwesterly direction and ultimately discharges into the 42” RCP at Avenue La Paloma, which continues south at Camino Capistrano before discharging into San Juan Creek.