- City:
- Fullerton, CA
- Site Type:
- Infrastructure and Utilities, Flood and Erosion Control
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Completed:
- 1940
- Quality of Information:
- Moderate
- Marked:
- Yes
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
In 1940, the Work Projects Administration (WPA) was involved in concrete channelization along the lower portion of Brea Creek in Fullerton, CA. As with most of the rivers in Southern California, development came under the Flood Control Act of 1936 following massive destruction from intense flooding in the early 20th Century.
Fullerton had a history of flooding with large floods in both 1900 and 1916. These prompted the development of the Orange County Flood Control District in 1927. Then in 1938, a large flood refocused attention on creating additional flood control measures. In the area, “2.90 inches of rain accumulated in 24 hours and 5.16 inches in 36 hours.” (Little, Emerson – Fullerton Observer).
The Brea Creek Channel was built by the WPA. Then in 1941, The Brea Dam (upstream) and the Fullerton Dam was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers but it is unknown if they were a part of the same WPA project. Today, you can visit the Brea Dam and locate a WPA plaque on the Brea Creek channel.
Source notes
Bronze plaque
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brea_Creek
Robert, Anthony. “A History of Brea Creek.” September, 4th 2022. The Fullerton Observer. https://fullertonobserver.com/2022/09/04/a-history-of-brea-creek/
Little, Emerson. “The City’s Barrancas and Floods in Fullerton’s Past.” February, 25th 2021. The Fullerton Observer. https://fullertonobserver.com/2021/02/25/the-citys-barrancas-and-floods-in-fullertons-past/
Site originally submitted by Andrew Laverdiere on October 13, 2015.
Additional contributions by Diem Duong.
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