The lagoons that were dug to fix a flood

South Shore’s lagoons look like they were always part of the plan. They weren’t. They were a fix.

In 1955, Alameda voted on filling the tidelands off the south shore: 7,002 yes, 5,406 no. Within months, the dredge Franciscan was pumping sand off the bay floor about a mile out, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Problems started almost right away. The new sand, historian Imelda Merlin wrote, “covered springs on the beach.” That pushed water into the basements of homes along the shore.

To relieve the flooding, Utah Construction agreed to dig two lagoons along the sea wall, one on each side of Grand Street, 250 feet wide. They came out 125 feet wide at most, with tongues of land, the “boas,” built into them for houses: Sandy Hook Isle, Larchmont Isle, Windermere Isle and more.

Today there are five connected lagoons, from Westline to Court. The water belongs to the lagoon homeowners’ association, and the City shares the upkeep. And they still handle the island’s water: the City calls them “a storm drainage retention and treatment pond” for part of Alameda, and before storm season it lowers them “to accept more stormwater.”

On an island this flat, every drop of rain needs somewhere to go, and a lot of it starts on our roofs. With the leaves and debris off the roof and out of the gutters, and the downspouts clear, it goes where it’s meant to. If ladders aren’t your thing, that part’s ours.

Let’s keep it flowing…