San Anselmo has a dark history of flooding. The Corte Madera Creek aka the San Anselmo Creek, or just… The Creek, looks so calm and peaceful 99% of the year, but when you have a massive rainfall year, with the ground saturated, some blockage in the creek, a King’s Tide (yes, this area is “tidal” or tidally impacted), and a downpour of heavy rain of more than 6 inches in an hour… and Mars is in retrograde, the gentle creek flowing through our town turns into a roiling hell-broth of back-pressure and destruction. This happens about every 10 years. “Flood Mitigation” has been impossible due to many factors, and millions of your tax payers dollars have been irresponsibly wasted and float downstream without repercussions or accountability. There are many moving parts, many pros and cons, many more years of much ado about something.
In 2026, the County of Marin (who owns “Building Bridge #2, the ultimate flooding chokepoint), threw in the towel on the failed attempt to remove the plaza bridge due to FEMA regulations. So it remains, with a 2027 hope to at least revitalize that structure into a viable community park on top. However, the underbelly of this concrete obstruction will surely play a major factor in our town’s next El Nino flood probability. It’s a long story. Here are some resources, reports, and media coverage links below.
WARNING: As always: STAY AWAY from fast moving water, creek/river banks, downed power lines, and follow the instructions of your emergency first responders. Flooding is not a spectator sport. Do not become part of the problem. “Don’t Drown > Turn Around.”
Resources:
- Creek Cam & Flood Gauges (real time) > CLICK HERE
- Flood, Storm, & Emergency Preparedness > CLICK HERE
- San Anselmo Flooding History > CLICK HERE
- Marin approves $500,000 for El Nino 2026/2027 (Marin IJ Reports) > CLICK HERE
- Flood Risk Analysis > CLICK HERE
Creekside’s Townsley Reports:
- January 2, 2026: Instagram Video > Flood Watch > CLICK HERE
- March 10, 2023: Instagram Video > Water Under Creekside > CLICK HERE
- January 4, 2023: Instagram Video > Creek Park at BB2 > Heavy rain > CLICK HERE
- October 25, 2021: Instagram Video > High water receeding in Creek Park > CLICK HERE
- October 24, 2021: Video > Flooding at BB2 > FB: CLICK HERE & IG: CLICK HERE
- September 2, 2021: Instagram Video > Otter in the Creek > CLICK HERE
- February 7,. 2017: Facebook Video > Flooding downtown > CLICK HERE
- December 2016: Creekside exposes river n the building > CLICK HERE
Media Reports:
January 11, 2023: Instagram Still shot KPIX Reporter Justin Andrews on SA Flooding > CLICK HERE- January 4, 2023: KRON4’s Terisa Estacio reports live from San Anselmo > CLICK HERE
- December 22, 2022: NBC Bay Area’s Pete Suratos reports on storm preparation > CLICK HERE
- September 17, 2022: NBC Bay Area’s Thom Jensen: Incoming Floods > CLICK HERE
- December 21, 2021: NBC Bay Area’s Melissa Colorado reports from San Anselmo > CLICK HERE
- January 24, 2017: ABC-7’s Cornell Bernard on the San Anselmo flood watch > CLICK HERE
- January 16, 2019: NBC Bay Area: San Anselmo, Fairfax, Mill Valley flood watch > CLICK HERE
- January 12, 2017: KPIX CBS Storm Coverage, San Anselmo > CLICK HERE
- December 10, 2014: KRON 4 > San Anselmo prepares for storm > CLICK HERE
Serving our community since 2017, Creekside Pizza & Taproom is a neighborhood resource during emergencies, with backup generator and satellite wi-fi.