Marin County's flood agency has a new general manager, a hire that lands as San Rafael has authorized up to $500,000 to reduce flood risk in the Canal neighborhood this winter.

Alev Bilginsoy, who most recently led strategic planning for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' San Francisco District, began the newly created role at the Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District on Monday, Oct. 12, according to a county news release. The Marin County Board of Supervisors established the general manager position in March after a November 2025 organizational review of the Department of Public Works (DPW) recommended more focused leadership over flood control operations.

San Rafael's City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 5 to spend up to $500,000 on pumps, generators and supplies for eastern San Rafael, the Marin Independent Journal reported. The Canal neighborhood, a predominantly Latino immigrant community of about 12,000 residents, flooded in January. At the county level, the Board of Supervisors approved a $3 million investment in winter storm preparedness on Sept. 29.

"With winter just around the corner, we couldn't be more pleased that Alev has joined us at such an important time," DPW Director Chris Blunk said in the county's announcement.

Bilginsoy brings direct Northern California flood experience. At the Army Corps, she led multidisciplinary teams on dredging and flood risk management projects, including preparedness planning with agencies serving southern Marin County, according to the county. She pursued a master's degree in landscape architecture and environmental planning at the University of California, Berkeley. Before the Army Corps, she worked as a water quality technician at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and as a program manager with the Santa Cruz-based Coastal Watershed Council.

The new general manager reports to Blunk and oversees flood preparedness, infrastructure maintenance, capital projects and the district's finances. The Flood Control District has about 20 employees and an operating budget for flood-control-zone operations and maintenance of roughly $7.1 million for fiscal year 2026–27.

Robin Bartlett, a DPW assistant director, had served as interim general manager since March. At an Oct. 8 Flood Zone 9 Advisory Board meeting, Bartlett cautioned residents not to overestimate what the county can do, saying he did not want people staying in unsafe homes because they believed the district could stop the tides, the Marin Independent Journal reported.

King tides in Marin are expected on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and in January, according to the Marin IJ's report on San Rafael's preparations. Marin County's preparedness guidance says El Niño can increase the likelihood of a wetter winter, but it does not predict where or when individual storms will occur.