Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
December 20, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
NATOMAS LEVEES:
Editorial: Reclamation board must act on Natomas levees; With 70,000 at risk, there's little time for lengthy deliberations on flood protection - Sacramento
Editorial: River pact in drought good, mostly, for western states
Tucson Citizen
FLOOD FUNDING:
$10.8 million in '08 for
FLOOD CONTROL MEASURES:
Suisun City creeks, canals cleared to reduce risk of winter flooding - Fairfield Daily Republic
NATOMAS LEVEES:
Editorial: Reclamation board must act on Natomas levees; With 70,000 at risk, there's little time for lengthy deliberations on flood protection
Sacramento
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's appointees to the state Reclamation Board will face a glaring spotlight in coming days and weeks as they decide on permits
The Reclamation Board, which has authority over all government-owned flood control structures in the
Yet there are numerous reasons why the Reclamation Board can't afford to equivocate on Friday as it begins its Natomas deliberations. Some 70,000 people live in this deep flood basin. All face an unacceptably high degree of risk until Natomas' levees are upgraded. Many of these families are confronting higher flood insurance premiums as they struggle to make mortgage payments. All the while, the state faces a staggering legal liability if a levee were to break during a winter flood.
Working quickly, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency has come up with a plan for quickly bulwarking Natomas. Bolstered by a local tax assessment and a bond measure approved by state voters, SAFCA is ready to launch a $400 million program to strengthen 25 miles of levees that engineers say is vulnerable to underseepage and other threats.
If it can start next year, the flood control agency hopes to complete work in 2010. That means that, in a best-case scenario, Natomas residents will only have to endure three winters with levees that fail to meet minimal federal standards.
Turning this best case into reality will be tough. Various interests are coming together to oppose SAFCA's plans.
Among the opponents are Natomas residents on the
At Friday's meeting, Reclamation Board members will likely hear claims that higher and wider levees in Natomas will displace flood waters elsewhere – up and down the
This might be a legitimate concern if SAFCA were planning to narrow the flood control channel. It's not. As the agency's engineers have made clear, all widening and raising of Natomas' flood defenses will be done on the interior – or "dry" side – of the levee. By leaving the existing channel untouched, SAFCA's project will have no affect on water levels, even in the largest floods.
Reclamation board members should take time to understand the basic hydraulics. If they do, they'll see it is exactly the kind of project that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger envisioned when he pushed for Proposition 1E, the $4.4 billion flood control bond that voters approved last year.
In endorsing the bond measure, the governor said: "The key thing is for us not to wait anymore. … I just don't want to sit here and get caught up with that and not having acted."
The seven members of the Reclamation Board should heed these words. Although they are obligated to look out for the entire Central Valley Flood Control Project, they also must marry such considerations with the fact that 70,000 people are at risk. A reasonable fix is at hand. Winter is upon us. Equivocation is not a luxury that Californians can afford. #
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/580167.html
Editorial: River pact in drought good, mostly, for western states
Tucson Citizen – 12/20/07
The new
The pact, signed by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne last week, also ignores the important need for water conservation.
The agreement is designed to help
Drought drains the river
•
• A shortage of the river's water could be declared by 2010, prompting the federal government to reduce water supply to
• Climate change is expected to worsen the drought, and runoff in five of the states will be reduced by more than 15 percent in this century, Kempthorne warns.
Under the new guidelines, which are to remain in effect for 19 years, water allotment reductions will be based on levels in
We support that a key component of the new compact uses the lake levels to trigger water allocation cuts.
Farming hit
But it is important to make note that the reduced allocations are expected to slam agriculture in
That's troublesome because intensifying urbanization already is crowding out farmlands in the state.
In other progressive policy changes, lakes Powell and Mead now will be managed as one reservoir system rather than two. And states can save water in
We support that, but one of its effects bodes poorly for water problems that already plague
But
That means water flowing to the Colorado River delta would be further reduced, a blow that worsens a whole subset of water and environmental issues in
The river has been dammed and interrupted so severely that communities south of the border are imperiled, as chronicled last year in a special report, "The Colorado River Story: Dams and the Delta," published in the Tucson Citizen.
Today, the river doesn't even flow freely to the sea, jeopardizing Mexican shrimp and fish, produce, indigenous cultures, wetlands and wildlife.
So Drop Two can be expected to exacerbate these problems, spurring protests by
Already at issue for American environmentalists is the lack of conservation measures in the river pact.
That's a legitimate concern. We in
In today's West, water must be managed at the grass-roots level as well as in the halls of power. #
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/opinion/72055.php
FLOOD FUNDING:
$10.8 million in '08 for
By Kevin Courtney, staff writer
The $555 billion omnibus spending bill approved by Congress Wednesday includes $10.8 million for
This is less than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local leaders had asked for, but enough to begin construction next summer of two railroad bridges — one to cross the
Realizing how tight flood money is this year, project backers had resigned themselves to getting only a modest appropriation, said Heather Stanton, local flood project manager.
The $10.8 million won’t be enough to complete the two bridges, which are likely to cost $16 million or more, but at least it gets this critical phase of the flood project under way,
Funding for the 2008 construction season will be half what the Corps of Engineers had to spend this year. The project got $21 million in 2007, allowing the corps to finish construction of flood defense from Napa Mill to
It will take multiple years for the corps to complete the new railroad bridges and relocate Napa Valley Wine Train tracks slightly to the east of their present location,
This work, which will eliminate an obstruction to flood waters, is estimated to cost at least $40 million. The corps intends to award a multi-year contract in the spring for all the railroad construction, although only $10.8 million’s worth will occur the first year,
Napa Mayor Jill Techel, who chairs the local flood board, said the 2008 allocation was “not great,” but at least
The coming year will be one of visible progress, Techel said. Besides the start of the railroad work, the reconstructed Veteran’s Memorial Park will reopen and a portion of the river promenade will debut, she said.
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a spending bill that would have given $7.5 million for the
Bush is expected to sign the omnibus bill, which includes $70 billion for the
The corps has already submitted its request for $21 million for the 2009 construction season,
Thompson’s office said the omnibus spending bill also included $4.37 million to strengthen levees in
The bill also allocates $230,000 for
In an earlier bill, Thompson helped secure future funding for the
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/12/20/news/local/doc476a1b72c8ae8130392053.txt
FLOOD CONTROL MEASURES:
Suisun City creeks, canals cleared to reduce risk of winter flooding
By Carol Bogart, staff writer
The Army Corps of Engineers notified
The few houses that had water damage during last winter's storms are located just east of Sunset Avenue on the north side of
To clear vegetation from the McCoy Creek canal and others, the city first had to have a permit from the California Department of Fish and Game. Federal officials and the California Department of Water Resources wanted better flood control. Fish and Game wanted to make sure species native to the area weren't compromised by the clearing.
To satisfy all parties, the city hired Anselmo Services, a subcontractor who specializes in satisfying the various agencies' requirements, said Lee Evans, associate city engineer and project manager. For instance, workers kept silt to a minimum as the vegetation was removed so fish eggs wouldn't suffocate.
Meantime, public works employees certified in proper application of herbicide treated tree stumps to kill the roots, Evans said.
'Our ditches are clear,' Suisun City Mayor Pete Sanchez said.
The employees have also been preparing the city for winter storms by keeping street storm drains clear of leaves, along with other measures, he added.
'We're really proud of the proactive role that public works has done,' Sanchez said.
Satisfying both the state Fish and Game Department, with its emphasis on protecting indigenous species, and the California Department of Water Resources, with its emphasis on flood control, was 'tricky.'
'The city walked a narrow line,' he added.
Evans remembers a time years ago when there were fewer regulations. Cities could simply clear-cut trees, brambles and other overgrowth, he said. He doesn't take issue with today's regulations, however.
'As a population, we must be more environmentally conscious because the planet does take a burden from us,' he said.
Both state agencies have now approved the work, Evans said.
'We no longer have to worry about losing our FEMA funds if there's a FEMA event, and God willing, there won't be.'
The city is cleared to be back on FEMA's list as soon as the Army Corps of Engineers submits the paperwork. #
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