Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 6, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
FLOOD CONTROL POLICY:
Legislators craft flood policy pact; Future development in risk zones is tied to protection efforts - Sacramento Bee
Senate OKs flood control bill - Marysville Appeal Democrat
LEVEE SURVEYS:
Radio waves to hone in on state’s levees - Marysville Appeal Democrat
State Surveying Central Valley Levees; Helicopter Flying With Thermal Imaging Device - KCRA Channel 3 (Sacramento
Aerial "Torpedo" May Help Spot Weak Levees - KXTV Channel 10 (
Sensor to evaluate Central Valley's levees - KGET Channel 17 (
Diamond Valley Lake Visitor Center headed for new location - Riverside Press Enterprise
FLOOD CONTROL POLICY:
Legislators craft flood policy pact; Future development in risk zones is tied to protection efforts
Sacramento
By Jim Sanders, staff writer
Ending more than a year of impasse, a compromise has been reached on wide-ranging legislation touted as a way to reduce flood risk and save lives in
The pact attempts to restrict development on flood-prone acreage without imposing building moratoriums or creating significant barriers to community economic growth.
"We can't go back to what we've had before, which is local government sometimes making decisions without taking any kind of flooding concerns into account," said Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis.
Emerging in the final two weeks of the legislative session, the compromise creates an unlikely partnership of two lawmakers who have clashed often on flood measures for much of the past year -- Wolk and Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden.
The deal worked out between the two legislators, and among numerous interest groups, is expected to be voted upon by early next week. It involves a package of flood-related bills.
The linchpin, Senate Bill 5, would prohibit new development -- but not until 2015 -- in hazardous
Meanwhile, the bill calls for the state Department of Water Resources expeditiously to provide Central Valley cities and counties with maps showing where flooding could occur from 100-year and 200-year storms, meaning they are so severe that their chances of occurring in any given year are 1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Though SB 5 imposes no immediate restrictions on new growth in hazardous areas, supporters claim that the new maps will have a sobering effect on land-use decisions, prompting cities and counties to reject dangerous development rather than risk lawsuits or fatalities.
"If they know there's a possibility that there's going to be a flood risk, they have to take that into consideration in their general plan and their zoning," Machado said.
The short-term effect of SB 5, essentially, would be to restrict development over the next eight years on acreage lacking 100-year flood protection -- and, after 2015, on properties not targeted for 200-year flood protection, Machado said.
"I'd love to go even further," Wolk said. "But this is good policy, it's a good balance, and it moves the flood-protection discussion forward."
Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, said he does not feel the bill is tough enough over the next eight years.
"My concern is we could put a lot of new homes and businesses in harm's way during that period, without doing the kind of risk management that we ought to be doing," he said.
Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said SB 5 "is not perfect, but I certainly think it's worthy of strong support."
"The bill is a push to all the stakeholders -- local government, builders, the state of
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not announced which flood bills, if any, he will sign.
The newly amended SB 5 is endorsed or has conceptual support from the Planning and Conservation League, the League of California Cities, and the California Building Industry Association, among others. No formal opposition has emerged.
Two Sacramento-area GOP legislators, Sen. Dave Cox and Assemblyman Roger Niello, both of
Key elements of SB 5 include:
• The state would be required to create and adopt a Central Valley Flood Protection Plan by 2012. The plan must be incorporated into local government general plans and zoning ordinances within three years.
• By 2015, new development in the
• The California Department of Water Resources would be required to propose building standards for deep floodplains by 2009.
• Cities and counties would be authorized to prepare local flood plans that include a strategy for achieving 200-year protection, an emergency response plan, and a long-term funding strategy for improvements.
SB 5 would take effect only if another bill, Senate Bill 17, is signed into law.
SB 17 would rename the state Reclamation Board, which would become the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. The panel would expand from seven to nine members, with one of the two newcomers appointed by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and the other by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez.
Wolk and Machado also support related legislation to require cities and counties to pay greater attention to flood-control planning; to require a flood-safety plan as a condition of state funding for levee upgrades; to require the state to notify landowners whose property is in a hazardous flood zone; and to require cities and counties to share liability with the state, under certain conditions, if they allow growth in an undeveloped area prone to flooding. #
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/363137.html
Senate OKs flood control bill
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 9/6/07
By Robert LaHue, staff writer
A controversial flood control bill cleared the state Senate on Wednesday and is headed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
AB 930, by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, will give the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency the power to acquire land easements, including those outside SAFCA boundaries.
The bill passed the Senate 24-11, with all 11 no votes coming from Republicans.
Sen. Sam Aanestad,
Speaking against the bill on the Senate floor, Aanestad said the legislation would “destroy” development in the two counties.
“We know that in the winter when it rains, and in the spring when the snow melts, the water has to go somewhere,” he said. “But the solution proposed by (SAFCA) is to have it go into my district. Folks, we’re talking only about my district.”
Aanestad said he was also concerned about how eminent domain may come into play in the acquisition of easements.
“I admit it’s a willing seller proposition by SAFCA – but it will be done in coordination with the state Department of Water Resources – which does have the power of eminent domain,” he said.
Aanestad also echoed concerns of the Sutter County Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Flood Control Funding about the county’s veto power.
“It’s not clear,” Aanestad said in a phone interview following the vote. “The wording is such that the supervisors think they have veto power.”
But Aanestad said the veto could be on the end of an eminent domain end-around.
“If you get two or three willing sellers in a flood plain, and there’s five or six (property owners), it’s feasible DWR would go to those remaining property owners and say, ‘Hey, look, half your fellow owners (are selling).’”
Aanestad was pleased with the 11 no votes, including two from members of the Natural Resources and Water Committee who earlier voted for the bill.
“At that time, there was no opposition,” Aanestad said. “It kind of slipped through.”
The bill passed the Assembly 65-8 in June. Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, who represents
During their Aug. 14 meeting,
Today,
The last day to amend bills is Friday, said Russ Brown,
But since the AB 930 passed Wednesday, there’s not much chance for such wording to be added. But the board will still consider sending the letter since it could still be seen by Schwarzenegger.
“It’s still important to let it be known where Yuba stands,” Brown said.
Aanestad said he has no idea what Schwarzenegger will do with the bill.
“I intend to send him a letter showing him that several members of the Senate have opposed this bill, and I’m hoping he will veto it,” the senator said. “However, with environmental issues such as this, its really hard to predict which way he’ll go.” #
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/aanestad_53638___article.html/bill_county.html
LEVEE SURVEYS:
Radio waves to hone in on state’s levees
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 9/6/07
By John Dickey, staff writer
Is it a helicopter? A torpedo? A missile?
Nope. The 30-foot-long device that will soon be spotted hanging below a helicopter will be used in the first electromagnetic survey of
Starting as soon as today on the Sutter Bypass near
Up and down levees, from north of Biggs to south of Manteca, the device will send radio waves as far as 140 feet into the levees.
The waves will help experts determine the conductivity of materials underneath the levee, giving clues to the type of soil, rock and structures.
“What this allows us to do is map contrasts in the earth,” said Brett Robinson, geophysicist with Fugro Airborne Surveys, a Canadian company hired to do the helicopter surveys.
Combined with hundreds of holes that have been drilled every 1,000 feet or so, as well as an earlier laser survey that profiled the levee’s height and dimensions, the information will provide the most complete look to date at what lies beneath the levees that protect Yuba City, Marysville and other urban areas. Many are more than 100 years old.
“In areas where we haven’t drilled, it will better inform us where to shift the drillings,” said Steve Mahnke, DWR’s chief of levee evaluations.
Often used in mineral exploration, electromagnetic surveying is now being employed to study
The technology has been employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study levees on the
No flying is allowed over homes or cars, meaning that some roads may be briefly closed by the California Highway Patrol while the helicopter passes over. The aircraft will also stick to the river side of levees where nearby homes hug the embankments, including Marysville.
The electromagnetic energy is not hazardous, according to officials. Its energy levels are comparable to those emitted by home appliances such as a kitchen stove.
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/levees_53639___article.html/helicopter_electromagnetic.html
State Surveying Central Valley Levees; Helicopter Flying With Thermal Imaging Device
KCRA Channel 3 (Sacramento
OLIVEHURST,
The Department of Water Resources is conducting a levee survey.
The chopper carries a thermal imaging device to help collect important data about the condition of levees.
The information the department gets will help the state decide how to distribute the money that voters approved for flood control.
The survey will be taking place for the next couple of weeks. #
http://www.kcra.com/news/14057238/detail.html
Aerial "Torpedo" May Help Spot Weak Levees
KXTV Channel 10 (
By Mark Hedlund, reporter
At 85 years old, Helen Pynchon has seen it all when it comes to floods, living just a block away from the
"I was four years old in the first one in '28," said the West Linda resident. "I had 11 inches (of flood water) in this house in '86. You leave in a hurry. I had 10 minutes to get out in 1986."
Now, flood control experts hope to make people like Pynchon sleep a little easier at night, unveiling some new aerial technology to survey 350 miles of urban levees from Lathrop to Oroville, hopeful for a faster and more thorough evaluation of levees.
Beginning with test flights Thursday, the state Department of Water Resources will use an airborne electromagnetic system to read soil composition of levees in the
"It's fairly new, it hasn't been used in
Described as "an ultrasound of the earth," the sensor is a 33-foot-long cylinder that looks like a torpedo. Suspended from a helicopter 100 feet above the levees, the sensor sends and receives signals to measure different types of soil. During the survey, the helicopter flies an average speed of 40 miles per hour.
"This gives us an idea of the mineral types, soil types in the ground," said Brett Robinson, of Fugro Airborne Services, the company contracted to do the work. "They can get a picture of the whole levee system, the internal workings, then they can interpret which parts may need strengthening, where there's weakness."
The data will be analyzed, and where questions are raised, DWR can target where to take more samples through drilling.
"We're going to be analyzing for a couple of things, stability is one of them," said
The sensors can reportedly measure 300 feet below the surface, more than twice as deep as bore samples. Flights will take place along the
Right now, flood experts drill samples about 1000 feet apart. "We know what we have in the borings, but what's inbetween? Does it match?" said
All of it sounds pretty good to Pynchon, who remembers when many of the levees were first put up by farmers. "They just used a team and scraper and put 'em up. They've gradually built up more but they've still got that same base that was probably scraped up sand from the river bottoms," Pynchon said.
"I don't want to go through another flood," she added. #
http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=32426
Sensor to evaluate
KGET Channel 17 (
State water officials displayed an electromagnetic imaging device they fly by helicopter over the
The device is one method being used to check and repair weak spots in 350 miles of levees, which channel agricultural and drinking water for about 25 million state residents.
Starting Friday, the missile-shaped device will be suspended from a helicopter and carried about 100 feet above the levees.
The device senses the electromagnetic resonance of the levees and the soil structures beneath it.
It was originally developed by the mining industry.
Chief of the California Department of Water Resources Levee Repair and Management Office Mike Inamine said the continuous images provided by the sensor will help fill in the blanks on hidden problems, such as levee seepage and erosion.
"Essentially, the electro conductivity of soils up to a 100 feet deep beneath the levees, and using that information, we can compare it with hard core physical exploration that we're doing throughout the levee system," said Inamine.
Water officials said some of the levees on the
http://www.kget.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=ce107e01-2d26-4aad-ae2d-804dfae3c866
Riverside Press
By Steve Fetbrandt, staff writer
Metropolitan Water District, which owns the $26 million water-education center on
The education center was designed as a world-class facility to show the history of water in
Metropolitan has been trying to figure out what to do with the building since then.
Leaders of the
"We hear rumors all the time," said Roxanne Rountree, marketing and events manager for the
"With the negative press that came when they closed, it was unfortunate. People thought we were connected and thought we were closing as well."
Richard Giese,
State Warns District
Last April, the state Department of Parks and Recreation notified the water district that it may have to refund a $5 million state grant that was used to help build the Center for Water Education, if Metropolitan does not come up with a satisfactory plan that fits the intent of the grant.
John Clairday, Metropolitan's senior deputy general council, said this week that the state and water district are working together, and that Sacramento is not pressing its demand as long as Metropolitan makes a good-faith effort.
"The state's concerned, of course, that the facility be open to the public," Clairday said.
The current visitor center on
"We're still assessing what's in our (visitor) center and what's in the Center for Water Education and trying to adapt and meld the exhibits," Metropolitan spokesman Bob Muir said.
Muir said several staff members will relocate from the existing visitor center to offices in the Center for Water Education by the end of September.
"They'll continue what they were doing before, both on our educational staff and those maintaining the operations of the visitor center," he said.
Muir said schoolchildren have been to the visitor center to learn about the lake's construction and the history of the region. It also served as the focal point for the public to keep tabs on the lake's construction as it was occurring, as well as a destination for visiting officials and dignitaries.
Hours Being Decided
Muir said that while the new visitor center hours are still being decided, the venue probably will be open Thursday through Sunday to correspond with the
Metropolitan's governing board decided in February to terminate the Center for Water Education Foundation's 99-year lease, take over the facility and retire the outstanding construction debts.
"We estimate the debt at a little more than $4.2 million," Clairday said. "Originally we had 57 creditors. We have paid off 37 claims and settled the two mechanic's liens. One was with ValleyCrest, the landscaper, and the other was by Mission Paving. ValleyCrest's exceeded $1 million and Mission Paving's was a little over $100,000."
That leaves outstanding claims from about 20 creditors for a balance of $1.6 million, Clairday said.
"Since there are no pending liens, we don't have quite the pressure in terms of the building, but Metropolitan Water District is still committed to finishing what we started in terms of assisting the Center for Water Education," he said.
Metropolitan put out requests for qualifications from consultants interested in developing potential educational uses for the center and possible partners to operate it.
"The fact that MWD is making a move to put staff in a visitor center there is a step in the right direction," Clairday said. #
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