Lessons from Pajaro: How to Better Support Vulnerable Communities as Climate Change Intensifies

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During last week’s atmospheric river storm, a levee broke on the Pajaro River, turning the town of Pajaro - inhabited mostly by Latino farmworkers - into a lake. As the LA Times reported, officials knew for decades that the levee was unstable, but delayed fixing it because of “benefit-cost ratios.” We’ll talk with community representatives and water management experts about what Pajaro residents are facing now, and how decisions are made that determine which communities are protected. As climate change brings more extreme weather events and flooding, we discuss what changes need to be made to protect vulnerable communities through the coming decades. Related link(s): For more on how you can help those affected by flooding in Pajaro Guests: Luis Alejo, Monterey County Supervisor Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director, Restore the Delta Mark Strudley, executive director, Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Forum comes from Rancho La Puerta, a wellness resort in Baja, California, just an hour from San Diego,
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0:19.0	mindfulness, spa therapies, and culinary adventures with
0:22.8	farm-fresh ingredients. Learn more at Rancho LePuerta.com.
0:27.3	Support for Forum comes from Broadway S.F. presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a
0:33.2	true story. From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and
0:39.7	Lucille Frank, a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused
0:46.3	of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice,
0:53.4	and devotion.
1:02.6	The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orphium Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th.
1:06.9	Tickets on sale now at Broadway, sF.com.
1:09.5	From KQED. From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:24.6	It was never a question of if the old levy protecting the 95% Latino
1:29.8	farm town of Pajaro would break. It was just a matter of when. A fix has been on the table since
1:35.3	1966, but still the old levy remained. And last Tuesday, an elevated Pajaro River busted a hole in the
1:42.6	levee and displaced thousands of people.
1:44.3	Why hadn't the levy been upgraded if everyone knew it was deficient and destined to fail?
1:49.5	The answer to that question reveals so much about California's flood protection system.
1:54.5	There are too many levees to properly fix, the climate is changing, and for decades,
1:58.8	the less money your community had, the less protection
2:01.2	you were going to get.
	...

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