A bill signed into law Monday will prevent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from starting construction on a flood control project proposed for the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana until the plans include ways to protect the area’s trees and greenery.

The Army Corps of Engineers planned to replace trees and other greenery surrounding the creek bed with a flood control channel made of stone riprap that officials said would better protect the surrounding area in the case of heavy rain. The project’s planning dates back to the 1980s, though it didn’t receive funding until 2018, when it was proposed as part of a series of improvements to the Santa Ana River and its feeders to better handle water and potential flooding.

U.S. Rep. Lou Correa, a Democrat who represents the congressional district that includes the neighborhoods along the section of the Santiago Creek that flows between the 5 Freeway and the Santa Ana River, shared in residents’ concerns about the corps’ “outdated” plan and its potential negative impacts on the local environment.

“One hundred years ago, when our city planners were planning Anaheim, Santa Ana, Orange, Garden Grove, open space was not an issue. Everybody had open space,” Correa said. “Today, fast forward, we don’t have any open space in central Orange County. What we have are very densely populated regions in my district.”

Corps spokesperson Dena M. O’Dell said the corps will need to “evaluate how a redesigned Santiago Creek Channel minimizes impacts to existing trees to ensure we have a technically feasible project.”

Funding will need to be secured for an evaluation and report of the changes in design and cost of the project, she added.

The cost of a revised design of the creek is unknown at this time, O’Dell said.

Correa said his constituents need green, open spaces to enjoy. His vision is to eventually see a regional park built in the area, he added.

“What the signing of this bill indicates is that my colleagues, Congress, Senate, the president, agreed we need to improve the Santiago Creek region, making sure that we preserve those beautiful trees, beautiful greenery that has gone up in the last 40 years,” Correa said.

The challenge to mitigate possible flooding in the area still exists, Correa added, but the new bill will update the plan so that greenery in the area can continue to thrive for residents to enjoy.

“We have to make sure that we keep the funding, about $40 million, in that area for the Army Corps of Engineers to do their flood hazard mitigation. We want to make sure that the trees are preserved, and we want to make sure — this is the big one — that we come up with a plan that the neighborhood likes,” Correa said.