NEWPORT BEACH

Back Bay Drive is now open again after more than a year of cleanup work following extensive flooding in December 1997. The work was complicated because the area is controlled by three entities--the city, the county and the Irvine Co.--and because it is a wildlife sanctuary, which required the city to get permission from state and federal agencies. When the city finally received the permission it needed along with funding, nesting season had begun for a number of endangered species, causing more delays. Landslides that occurred during El Nino rains clogged drainage channels and storm-drain pipes with dirt, water and mud. The street flooded, causing slippery conditions hazardous to bikers, joggers and vehicles.