Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
January 16, 2008
1. Top Items
Levee report shocks city; Feds plan tough restrictions that could halt building in Natomas and require flood insurance - Sacramento Bee
Engineers sound alarm about Sacramento's levee system - Associated Press
Levee report shocks city; Feds plan tough restrictions that could halt building in Natomas and require flood insurance
Sacramento
By Mary Lynne Vellinga And Matt Weiser, staff writers
After years of post-Hurricane Katrina pressure to improve the nation's defenses against catastrophic flooding, the federal government took a drastic step Tuesday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it would place
The FEMA announcement sets a long-awaited deadline for homeowners to buy flood insurance before rates rise.
The designation was greeted with anger and shock by
City leaders questioned the evaluation conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They said they would seek "an act of Congress" to stop the federal action. And they said the new rules could cripple
"I am very frustrated and very angry with the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA because
Natomas is a major economic driver for the city, which is facing a significant budget crisis. "I'm totally outraged," City Manager Ray Kerridge said Tuesday. "I don't know how the federal government can do this to this city."
North Natomas today accounts for 47 percent of the development in the city of
Unlike her late husband, however, it doesn't look as if Matsui will lead a charge to make FEMA back off. In the 1980s, U.S. Reps. Robert Matsui and Vic Fazio pushed through legislation that prevented FEMA from slapping building restrictions on much of
"Public safety is No. 1," Matsui spokeswoman Lauren Smith said Tuesday. She said the congresswoman was "exploring avenues" that would allow critical projects, such as a planned
In 1998, after an eight-year building moratorium, the corps said the Natomas levees met its minimal 1-in-100 flood protection standard, or the ability to withstand a flood with a 1 percent chance of striking in any given year.
Then, in July 2006, the corps said the levees didn't meet that standard after all, despite the $57 million in upgrades during the 1990s.
On Tuesday, the corps said Natomas levees aren't strong enough to withstand even a 30-year storm, the type of event that has a 3 percent chance of happening any given year.
Due to the limited time available for this study, the corps closely examined only two
The corps found seepage and unstable slopes in both.
"That's enough information right there for us to not certify the levees," said Roger Henderson, assistant geotechnical branch chief for the corps.
In one stretch, three sites were up to 4 inches too short to hold back a 30-year flood.
FEMA proposes remapping the basin as an "AE Zone." That means all new construction or substantial remodeling must be elevated above higher flood levels now thought possible. In Natomas, that could mean buildings must be raised 20 feet – a prohibitively expensive requirement that would create a de facto building moratorium. The decision is likely to become final in December.
City and county officials cannot appeal the AE zone, but they can appeal the elevation, said FEMA spokesman Frank Mansell.
The new Natomas designation also means residents with federally backed mortgages must buy flood insurance.
FEMA recommends anyone who does not already have flood insurance buy it now, or face higher rates after December. A policy covering a structure for $250,000 costs $769 per year. After December, it will cost $1,390, Mansell said.
Building in Natomas can proceed as long as a project receives permits by December, when the new maps become effective, officials said.
William Thomas, the city's development director, said the new designation could halt 8,200 housing units in
The federal decision could delay public improvements such as a library, a high school and fire station planned for Natomas,
One major project that could be affected is the $1.3 billion expansion of
Officials at the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency said Tuesday's announcement won't change their plans for levee upgrades in Natomas. Executive Director Stein Buer said his agency has worked closely with the corps to understand its results and changing standards.
SAFCA hopes to start construction this summer on the first phase of a $400 million levee repair project in Natomas. It is designed to restore 100-year protection by 2010, and achieve 200-year protection by 2012.
But that project has yet to be approved by state and federal officials, and is subject to a lawsuit.
Tuesday's news left some Natomas property owners fuming at the slow progress in achieving flood protection for their area.
David DeLuz said he bought his
DeLuz said homeowners should not have to pay for flood projects needed because of shifting standards and poor planning.
"We've got a situation where property values are going to be affected," DeLuz said. "What's going to happen to the demand for a house that exists in a 30-year floodplain? Homeowners are going to be left holding the bag." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/637772-p2.html
Engineers sound alarm about
Associated Press – 1/16/08
By Samantha Young, staff writer
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said construction in the Natomas area can be allowed only if built 20 feet above ground because the river levees are too weak or too low.
The assessment by the Corps reveals an even greater flood risk than previously thought around
It marks a shift in how the federal government is calculating flood risks to better gauge threats to homeowners around the country since Hurricane Katrina devastated
"People need to be aware of what the risk is," said Kevin Knuuti, the Corps' chief of engineering in
The government's advice Tuesday to Natomas homeowners: Buy flood insurance and store all valuables on a home's second story — if it has one, said Kathy Schaefer, a regional engineer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The building restrictions calling for elevated construction are scheduled to take effect in December when FEMA plans to release updated flood maps for the area. Homeowners with federally backed mortgages and businesses with federal loans or grants also must buy flood insurance.
Natomas, a natural basin that is home to
Developers began building homes, strip malls and office parks in Natomas in 1998, after the Corps ruled that the levees were strong enough to provide the area with 100-year flood protection. That rating means there is a 1 percent chance of being flooded every 100 years.
More than half the city's new businesses settled there during the past decade.
"Local government officials have known there are problems, and they still keep telling people it's OK to build," said James Pachl, an attorney who represents environmental groups trying to limit development in Natomas. "Everyone knows it's a flood hazard."
A review of the levees in 2006 prompted the Corps to drop its 100-year certification, a change that led FEMA to propose building restrictions.
But the Corps' latest study, released Tuesday, was even worse news for local officials.
It found that some sections of the region's 43 miles of levees are too low to handle a storm that would occur at least once every 33 years.
In others areas, flood waters with enough force would seep underneath and through the earthen berms, causing parts of the levee to slowly give way, said Roger Henderson, a Corps engineer.
The deficiencies mean there is a 60 percent change a flood will occur over the course of a 30-year mortgage.
Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo said she was frustrated the federal government had responded by recommending restrictions that she said essentially impose a building moratorium for the next two years.
They also complained that the Corps had used more stringent criteria in examining the levees.
"This is theoretical math,"
http://www.montereyherald.com/search/ci_7985081?IADID=Search-www.montereyherald.com-www.montereyherald.com
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