The risk of flooding in Sacramento and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the highest in the country due to the aging of the city’s levee system that has not been properly maintained. River City has even less protection than New Orleans despite spending $ 300 million to strengthen the Sacramento and America river levees that have been in place for the past 20 years.
There is currently $ 32 million on the table for 2016 repairs, and it is being supported at the federal level. President Obama included Natomas levee repairs in his budget request for the next fiscal year: $ 21 million of the $ 32 million would come at the federal level. Yet $ 500 million is needed to “continue to upgrade levees to 200-year flood protection,” according to capradio.org.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger first declared a state of emergency for California’s levees in February 2006. He executed Executive Order S-01-06 directing agencies to identify, evaluate, and repair critical systems. As a result, some critical erosion sites were repaired in 2006, but the underlying structural problem for the Sacramento region and the state persists.
According to the Governor’s office, 33 levees have been repaired and an additional 71 repairs were scheduled to be completed by September 2007. These repairs essentially reconditioned the levees with rocks on the waterside to rebuild their slope to the original flood level protection. .
Although these repairs were made without key federal funding, state representatives and the current governor continue to introduce federal initiatives to underwrite more needed repairs. Obama’s response to this by including Natomas levees in his budget is a big step.
Even residents have taken steps to achieve greater protection by passing flood assessments for their area, and by asking the city to stop building new homes in high-risk flood areas.
The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency recommends that some communities carry flood insurance, even if the homeowner’s lender does not require them to do so. The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that, over the life of a 30-year mortgage, neighborhoods in Downtown, Midtown, Oak Park, Natomas, Land Park and East Sacramento face a 26 percent chance of flooding, according to the Agency. Sacramento Area Flood Control Officer. Although some homeowners will not have to obtain flood insurance because levee repairs in their neighborhood have decreased the risk.
For those neighborhoods that need the insurance, some may still be eligible for low-cost preferred flood rates.
Important numbers
- City of Sacramento Floodplain Information: (916) 808-5061
- County Flood Zone Information: (916) 874-7517
- Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency: (916) 874-7606
