Lungren needs to deliver on Natomas levees, says the SacBee
Posted by: Maven on November 18, 2011 at 7:31 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“When we last checked in on the Natomas flood control project, the situation was grim. Because of overly broad restrictions on “earmarks,” the U.S. House of Representatives has bottled up federal authorizations for water and flood control projects all over the country, including one in Natomas.
Without such a federal authorization, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be unable to finish a levee improvement project needed to protect 100,000 people, the Sacramento International Airport and billions of dollars in property. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Levee repair work in Marysville faces a year’s delay
Posted by: Maven on November 14, 2011 at 5:30 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“A long-awaited levee repair job in Marysville has been stalled by disagreement about the construction of a new seepage barrier.
The first phase of the project, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was to be completed this month, but will now be delayed by a year.
“We’re confident it was the right thing to stop this based on public safety,” said Col. William Leady, Sacramento District commander of the Army Corps. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
California to sue feds over levee trees
Posted by: Maven on November 11, 2011 at 6:45 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“The state of California will join environmental groups in a lawsuit against the federal government to protect trees growing on levees.
The state Department of Fish and Game announced Wednesday it will join the federal lawsuit, initiated earlier this year by Sacramento-based Friends of the River. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
MORE: DFG seeks to join lawsuit challenging levee clear cutting, from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org
Department of Fish and Game joins lawsuit against Army Corps of Engineers
Posted by: Maven on November 10, 2011 at 8:07 amFrom Lake County News:
“The California Department of Fish and Game on Wednesday commenced the process to join federal litigation that challenges the removal of vegetation on levees.
The case, Friends of the River, et. al. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, et. al. was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. It essentially challenges the Army Corps of Engineers’ adoption of a national policy that requires removing virtually all trees and shrubs on federal levees.
“DFG, along with many other local, state and federal agencies, has been in discussion with the Corps about this policy for several years,\” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “It's unfortunate that the discussions haven't led to a more agreeable outcome, but if adhered to, the policy will do incredible damage to California's remaining riparian and adjacent riverine ecosystem, especially in the Central Valley. … “
Continue reading from the Lake County News by clicking here.
MORE: DFG Seeks to Join Lawsuit to Protect Fish and Wildlife on Levees
Army Corps opens levee database to public
Posted by: Maven on October 27, 2011 at 8:39 amFrom ACWA’s Water News:
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will open the National Levee Database for public access by hosting a series of public webinars beginning tomorrow.
The database is a real-time, dynamic information source that provides visualization and search capability for the first time on the location and condition of Corps-operated levee systems nationwide. It includes attributes of levees and floodwalls relevant to flood fighting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, repair and inspection. … “
Continue reading from ACWA’s Water News by clicking here.
Army Corps quickens flood-studies, starts with Sutter Basin Project
Posted by: Maven on October 7, 2011 at 7:44 amFrom DVIDS News (Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System):
“The District's Sutter Basin Project is testing a national pilot program to move more quickly from studying a flooding problem to fixing it.
It's been 56 years since the Sutter Basin, an area of low land located in the heart of California's Central Valley, was devastated by a catastrophic flood.
Yuba City was totally inundated when its levees failed, killing 37, injuring 2,884 and causing damage of $327 million in current estimates. Those levees were originally constructed by farmers trying to protect their property, farms and crops,not licensed engineers. … “
Continue reading from DVIDS by clicking here.
California flooding, Katrina-style
Posted by: Maven on October 7, 2011 at 7:41 amFrom NBC Bay Area:
“California’s Capitol is virtually shut down for the year, freeing up Sacramento leaders to shift their attention, for now, from the state’s fiscal crisis to another type of threat: flooding.
While the first rains of the season visited California, the top Democrat in the state Senate, Darrell Steinberg, is on a taxpayer-paid trip, along with other political and business leaders, to New Orleans this week. … “
Continue reading from NBC Bay Area by clicking here.
Jessica Ludy: Flood risk exists on both sides of levees
Posted by: Maven on September 17, 2011 at 6:57 amFrom the Grand Forks Herald, this commentary by Jessica Ludy:
“The Herald's editorial about flood insurance struck a chord that resonates from Grand Forks to Stockton, Calif. ( “Flood-risk map stretches from coast to coast,\” Page A4, Sept. 7).
Here's hoping it reverberates in Washington, too, as lawmakers debate reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program.
As the editorial accurately warns, “being at low risk is not the same as being at no risk,\” though the NFIP might lead us to believe otherwise. … “
Continue reading this commentary at the Grand Forks Herald by clicking here.
Researchers quake-test peat on Sherman Island
Posted by: Maven on September 1, 2011 at 8:41 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“The earth rippled and squirmed on this delta island. It did not yawn open but did reignite a debate about the seismic safety of levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
In the first experiment of its kind, scientists from UCLA erected a shaking machine atop a model levee about the size of a two-car garage. Their goal: find out if the peat soil on Sherman Island would rupture, causing the “levee” to fail.
Peat, a spongy material composed of decaying plants rather than mineral soil, is known as a poor thing to build on. Yet it lies under most of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, including its 1,100 miles of levees. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
SacBee editorial: Corps should revise its policy on levee trees
Posted by: Maven on September 1, 2011 at 8:29 amFrom the Sacramento Bee, this editorial:
“When it comes to trees and levees, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to revise its one-chainsaw-fits-all policy.
A new study by the Corps reveals why.
The study, conducted by an Army Corps research unit in Mississippi, examined how trees affect flood-control levees in California, the Pacific Northwest, New Mexico and Mississippi.
It found that trees actually strengthen levees in some situations. It also urged that engineers conduct site-specific evaluations to determine if trees on levees are harmful or beneficial, according to a report Saturday by The Bee’s Matt Weiser. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Saturday’s top of the scroll: Trees strengthen levees in some cases, study finds
Posted by: Maven on August 27, 2011 at 7:46 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“For years, California flood control officials have pleaded with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider a policy that bans trees on levees, urging the agency to heed years of independent research that found little risk to flood safety.
Now, a new study by the Army Corps itself has found that trees actually strengthen levees in some situations. The conclusion could force the agency to reconsider its policy, which would otherwise eliminate millions of Central Valley trees. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
RELATED LEVEE NEWS: Could California’s levees fail UCLA engineers plan to simulate an earthquake on Monday to find out
Army Corps on YouTube: Bethel Island levee fix
Posted by: Maven on August 19, 2011 at 8:19 amFrom the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, posted at YouTube:
“Under the CALFED Levee Stability Program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District is studying how best to quickly fix urgent levee problems while a longer-term plan for reducing flood risk throughout California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is developed. The Horseshoe Bend levee on Bethel Island is slated for an upgrade under the program. Here, our lead planner for the program, Brooke Schlenker, explains a levee problem on Bethel Island and what we can do to fix it. More on the program here:
www.spk.usace.army.mil/projects/civil/Delta/CALFED.html”
Delta National Park blog: Seismically-repairable, river-protecting levees
Posted by: Maven on August 19, 2011 at 8:07 amFrom the Delta National Park blog:
“Jeff Michael at the Valley Economy blog is disseminating a preliminary executive summary of a Delta Economic Sustainability Plan that is being produced under (I think) his direction.
The ESP (like the acronym) is a thorough counter argument to the pro-Peripheral Canal/Tunnel argument that says it is too risky to continue to use the Delta's waterways (and the levees that protect them) as the way to move water to the pumps. It is an alternative that deserves testing, and to their credit, they have found a great site to do just that.
More about this below, but first, a few words about why levees interest me so – as artifacts, as works of design, yes – but especially as sites of contention. … “
Continue reading from the Delta National Park blog by clicking here.
Shipwreck blocks Corps levee repair on Sacramento River
Posted by: Susan Lauer on August 3, 2011 at 8:37 amFrom Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System
Pieces from a sunken ship at a planned levee-erosion repair site along the Sacramento River are nearly stable enough to become a permanent piece of history.
The pieces are … part of an intensive underwater investigation of the historic Clarksburg Ferry, which operated along the Sacramento River between Yolo and Sacramento Counties until it sank in 1928.
Continue reading from Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System by clicking here.
Shipwreck blocks Corps levee repair in California
Posted by: Susan Lauer on July 28, 2011 at 7:41 amFrom the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Pieces from a sunken ship at a planned levee-erosion repair site along the Sacramento River are nearly stable enough to become a permanent piece of history.
The pieces are the products of six data-recovering dives conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 7, 2009, directed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, and part of an intensive underwater investigation of the historic Clarksburg Ferry, which operated along the Sacramento River between Yolo and Sacramento Counties until it sank in 1928.
Continue reading at USACE by clicking here.
Jay Lund: Can trees and levees both live in harmony? They can, if ….
Posted by: Maven on July 6, 2011 at 8:17 amFrom the Sacramento Bee, this commentary by Jay Lund:
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to enforce a policy of removing large vegetation from many miles of Central Valley levees has caused quite a stir.
Both sides assert noble and worthy causes : environmental and recreation interests want to protect trees and bushes on levees, and public safety demands vegetation removal. Both sides are right.
Sadly, California has set aside little room for both the environment and flood safety, so these important causes must fight over thin strips of levee that currently provide poor habitat and poor flood protection. … “
Continue reading Jay Lund’s commentary at the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
California Water Blog: Woodman, spare that levee?
Posted by: Maven on July 1, 2011 at 7:58 amFrom the California Water Blog:
“Policy debates sometimes seem to tragically miss the big picture. The current debate on levee vegetation in California is an example. Both sides assert noble and worthy causes,environmental and recreation interests favor trees and bushes on levees and public safety demands vegetation removal. Both sides are right. Sadly, California has found little room for both the environment and flood safety, so these noble and important causes must fight over thin strips of levee that currently provide both poor habitat and poor flood protection.
Having levees without trees and brush is attractive for flood management. Inspecting levees and monitoring is easier and more effective without trees. Most levees fail before over-topping, and usually give warning (through slumping, animal burrows, or seeping water) before eroding internally and failing catastrophically, allowing some time for repair and evacuation. Emergency repairs also proceed faster without having to remove vegetation. Limiting vegetation also might introduce fewer potential problems from decaying roots or uprooted falling trees. Worldwide, countries with serious levee systems seem to keep their levees cleared, as the accompanying pictures indicate. … “
Continue reading from the California Water Blog by clicking here.
Commentary: Corps retrences, alienates friends in wake of Katrina
Posted by: Maven on June 26, 2011 at 8:20 amFrom Stuart Leavenworth at the Sacramento Bee, this commentary:
“A few weeks after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005, I flew over the city in a military helicopter with top brass from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Seen from the air, the destruction was overwhelming. Massive fishing trawlers had been tossed atop highways. Levees were punctured across the city.
At the time, I remember feeling some sympathy for the Corps, which was being widely blamed for causing a “man-made disaster” that had drowned and killed hundreds of people. … “
Continue reading this commentary at the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Environmentalist groups’ suit attacks Army Corps of Engineers directive aimed at levee safety, flood fighting
Posted by: Maven on June 22, 2011 at 7:09 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“A federal policy requiring trees and shrubs to be stripped from 1,600 miles of California levees should be overturned, environmentalists argued in a lawsuit filed Monday. The Army Corps of Engineers’ no-vegetation policy has been in place for decades but unevenly enforced. After Hurricane Katrina, the agency set out to apply it more consistently.
Last summer, for example, a Contra Costa County crew cut down about 25 trees along Wildcat Creek near Richmond under pressure from federal inspectors, unaware that their superiors were intent on defying the federal policy.
“It is a policy the Corps does enforce, but they haven’t gone around and enforced it everywhere, immediately,” said Bob Wright, a lawyer for Friends of the River, one of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit. … “
Continue reading from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
Tuesday’s top of the scroll: Lawsuit challenges Army Corps’ program to cut trees from California levees
Posted by: Maven on June 21, 2011 at 8:25 am
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
“A federal order to clear-cut trees and shrubs from thousands of miles of levees in California will destroy precious wildlife habitat and cost the cash-strapped state more than $7 billion, conservation groups argued in a lawsuit filed Monday.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vegetation removal policy, crafted after the catastrophic levee failures following Hurricane Katrina, would also weaken, rather than bolster, the barriers that channel storm water and hold back rising seas, the groups contend in a suit against the agency. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
From the Sacramento Bee:
” … The Army Corps sets national standards for levee safety. In 2007 it unveiled a revised maintenance policy that forbids trees or shrubs on levees. Instead, only short grass is allowed on levees and within 15 feet on either side.
The policy raises significant concerns in California, where levee vegetation composes much of the remaining 5 percent of the Central Valley’s historic riparian forest. As such, it is crucial shade and habitat for migrating endangered fish, as well as nesting habitat for many endangered birds.
“This would be the most massive intentional infliction of environmental damage on our rivers that we’ve seen in modern times,” said Bob Wright, senior counsel at Friends of the River in Sacramento. “It’s mind-boggling.” … “
Read the full text of this article from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
From the Stockton Record:
” … That foliage provides what little habitat remains for a number of fish and animals, some of which are endangered. And it lends aesthetic value to rivers and streams.
“A lot of levees here are like an extension of the riverbank. If you get rid of those trees, you’ve got streams that look like drainage ditches instead of beautiful, tree-lined rivers,” said Bob Wright, an attorney for the conservation group Friends of the River, one of the plaintiffs to the lawsuit. … “
Read the full text of the article at the Stockton Record by clicking here.
MORE: Read the press release from the Center for Biological Diversity by clicking here.
Photo of trees at dusk on Staten Island levee in the Delta by flickr photographer Art Siegel.
Webpage: Effects of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ policy on levee vegetation in California
Posted by: Maven on June 2, 2011 at 7:59 amFrom FloodSafe California:
“In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) embarked upon a process of reviewing and improving their levee standards with the goal of improving public safety. As part of this process, they reinvigorated and clarified national policy that would require the removal of all woody vegetation over 2 inches in diameter from levee systems throughout the country. This was done even though vegetation did not cause any of the numerous levee and floodwall failures in New Orleans.
The most recent descriptions of the Corps' vegetation management policy are contained in the ETL 1110-2-571 “Guidelines For Landscape Planting and Vegetation Management at Levees, Floodwalls, Embankment Dams, and Appurtenant Structures\” adopted April 10, 2009 (ETL) and the associated draft policy guidance letter, “Process for Requesting a Variance from Vegetation Standards for Levees and Floodwalls–75 Fed. Reg. 6364-68\” (PGL).
On April 15, 2010, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) submitted extensive comments on the ETL and PGL, explaining how the Corps' vegetation management policy will reduce public safety in California, result in extensive and unnecessary environmental damage, and remove the Corps' responsibility to assist state and local maintaining agencies in ensuring the integrity of California's levee system.
California agrees with the Corps that public safety is the highest priority for flood management. California also agrees upon the importance of appropriate vegetation management on levees. Despite these common goals, California asserts that the Corps' strict enforcement of the ETL and PGL will adversely impact public safety. This unintended consequence is due in large part by attempting to address complex technical, financial, legal and institutional problems with a highly prescriptive, one-size-fits-all approach to vegetation management. “
This webpage is a wealth of resources on this issue, with links to documents, letters, news articles, and a timeline of events. Check out the FloodSAFE California webpage on levee vegetation by clicking here.
Rethinking flood control: Giving water its space
Posted by: Maven on May 10, 2011 at 8:57 amRecord flooding in the Midwest has been making news, prompting a discussion on rethinking the nation’s approach to flood control. From the Seattle Times:
” … In a move that echoes the approach taken by the Netherlands, which has long wrestled with such problems, a nascent movement made up of activists and city leaders victimized by flooding is pushing for “natural river defenses.” They want to set the rivers free, if just a little.
Cities and counties are buying up homes and farms and relocating residents to restore flood plains and wetlands. They’re moving levees back from the water’s edge. And they’re forsaking steep concrete channels in favor of gently sloped green spaces.
Oft-flooded Napa, Calif., calls its $400 million project the “living river.” Confronted in the 1970s with a Corps of Engineers plan to turn the downtown riverbank into a concrete channel, citizens said no. Instead, in 1998, voters said yes to relocating 13 bridges, buying out some 100 homes and businesses and restoring 900 acres of wetlands. … “
Read more about Napa’s efforts as well as other cities across the U.S. by clicking here.
MORE:
- Rethinking Flood Control: Levee System’s Impact on Communities, Environment Prompts Look at Alternatives, from the Wall Street Journal
- How Does The Army Corps Handle Flooding, from NPR
SOMEWHAT RELATED:
- Climate change and the flood this time: Midwest flooding is a taste of climate change in its early stages. We’ve got to fight back, and fast, commentary by Bill McKibben in the Los Angeles Times
Natomas property owners overwhelmingly approve levee assessments
Posted by: Maven on April 30, 2011 at 7:37 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“Property owners in Sacramento’s Natomas basin have voted overwhelmingly to pay higher taxes in order to finish a massive repair of levees protecting their community.
In results announced Friday, a proposed property tax increase passed with 84.5 percent approval in a vote-by-mail held by the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Friday’s top of the scroll: Earthquake could threaten California’s water supply
Posted by: Maven on April 22, 2011 at 8:52 am
Rumor is that the third draft of the Delta Plan will be released today, just in time for your holiday weekend reading! I’ll post it once I receive it, and twitter it, too. Meanwhile, here’s this from Smart Planet (an IBM sponsored site):
“Water from the Sacramento River is pulled through the Delta to pumps that deliver water to California residents. Most of the water, though, is used to satisfy agricultural needs.
All of this exported water disrupts the natural water flow through the region. However, now with sea level rising and increased and improved seismic risk assessment – the aging infrastructure in the Delta might be putting the water supply of 23 million Californians in jeopardy.
While the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been there for thousands of years, building levees has changed the area's pristine marshland into farmland. … “
Continue reading from Smart Planet by clicking here.
Court battle expected over Central Valley levee vegetation
Posted by: Maven on April 20, 2011 at 8:25 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“Controversial federal rules that could require nearly every tree and bush to be chopped down from Central Valley levees are likely headed for a court battle.
On Tuesday, Sacramento-based environmental group Friends of the River and another group, Defenders of Wildlife, notified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers they intend to file a lawsuit against the rules.
The 60-day notice is required under the Endangered Species Act. The groups also plan to sue under another statute that requires federal agencies to consult each other to ensure their policies don’t harm the environment. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Loss of streams and wetlands will widen with new corps rules
Posted by: Maven on April 19, 2011 at 7:52 amFrom YubaNet.com:
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is poised to approve rules that will destroy hundreds of miles of streams and thousands of acres of wetlands under the guise that there will only be minimal impacts, according to formal comments filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and other groups. The rules would for the first time permit destruction of wetlands and streams and ocean floor to accommodate renewable power facilities.
“The Army Corps is doing the nation a disservice with this proposal by permitting massive losses of freshwater swamps, streams, and ocean habitat,” stated New England PEER Director Kyla Bennett, a former wetlands specialist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “The Clean Water Act only allows this type of permit for projects with ‘minimal adverse environmental effects’ but the Corps has plowed a battleship through this narrow loophole.” … “
Continue reading from YubaNet.com by clicking here.
Another crack discovered in south Sutter County levee; plus levee upgrade project scheduled to begin in May
Posted by: Maven on April 7, 2011 at 7:17 amFrom the Appeal Democrat:
“Officials have discovered another crack in the northern levee of the Natomas Cross Canal in south Sutter County, raising the cost to repair it and other storm damage to $4.1 million.
Earlier this week, inspectors with Reclamation District 1001 discovered a new 100-foot crack about 300 feet west of where a crack was discovered last month.
County and district officials said they still believe the levee is not in danger of failing. … “
Continue reading from the Appeal-Democrat by clicking here.
Meanwhile, more work on the levees is scheduled to begin next month:
“Within weeks, the final major project planned for the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority should be under way.
By mid-May, crews are planned to begin work upgrading four miles of Yuba River levees between Simpson Road and the Goldfields with slurry walls and seepage berms. … “
Continue reading from the Appeal-Democrat by clicking here.
Flood emergency declared over Stanislaus County weakened levee
Posted by: Maven on April 6, 2011 at 7:05 amFrom the Merced Sun-Star:
“Alarmed at a weakened levee on the San Joaquin River, Stanislaus County supervisors on Tuesday declared a state of flood emergency.
Damages “could run into millions of dollars,” County Chief Executive Officer Rick Robinson said, and the declaration could clear the way for state and federal financial relief if Gov. Jerry Brown agrees.
The levee was not identified in a nonagendized item that supervisors agreed to hear because of its urgent nature, but Supervisor Jim DeMartini said it’s near Gomes Lake. … “
Continue reading from the Merced Sun-Star by clicking here.
Officials: Levee crack in south Sutter is larger, but earthen wall is stable
Posted by: Maven on March 29, 2011 at 7:43 amFrom the Marysville Appeal-Democrat:
“A crack found on a levee near Verona in south Sutter County was larger Saturday when officials checked on it. However, the officials added that the levee remains stable and continues to hold back water.
Reclamation District 1001 officials continue to monitor a 240-foot section of levee along the Natomas Cross Canal that developed cracking and first showed signs of slippage on Monday. … “
Continue reading from the Marysville Appeal-Democrat by clicking here.
Feds OK repaired levee; Protecting thousands, berm again eligible for U.S. government funds
Posted by: Maven on March 5, 2011 at 7:17 amFrom the Stockton Record:
“A major levee protecting thousands of homes in Weston Ranch, Lathrop and west Manteca is once again eligible for federal flood rehabilitation dollars, after engineers patched up maintenance problems that landed them in trouble last year.
While the paperwork isn’t quite done, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said this week that it has inspected the levee on the east bank of the San Joaquin River and found improvement.
This means if a flood happened today, the federal government would help pay to rebuild that levee, said Meegan Nagy, levee safety program manager with the Corps in Sacramento. … “
Continue reading from the Stockton Record by clicking here. Note: this article is behind the paywall at the Stockton Record. Login or registration required to read it. A free registration will give you 10 article reads per month. If you would rather not go through that, you can read a brief version of the story here.
Lawmakers oppose levee policy regarding vegetation removal
Posted by: Maven on February 25, 2011 at 8:20 amFrom the Sacramento Business Journal:
“Seventeen California lawmakers are “demanding\” changes to levee vegetation policies of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, a Sacramento Democrat and one of those who signed a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, said Wednesday. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Business Journal by clicking here.
Heavy runoff could endanger Delta levee system
Posted by: Maven on February 23, 2011 at 8:45 amFrom the Bay Area’s KTVU Channel 2:
“In 2006, it took a herculean effort to save Twitchell Island after it was pounded by wind-driven rains and surf.
This was perhaps most recent and dramatic threat to a major delta levee. Since then, years of drought have followed.
But, this winter, high in the Sierra, an above average snow pack waits and the runoff and rising water may test the Delta levees again come spring.
“The high spring runoff is just another event that raises the water level in the delta. It is another place to be vigilant,” said California Department of Resources Delta Levee Chief Dave Marass. … “
Continue reading from KTVU Channel 2 by clicking here.
Dan Bacher: The great myth of the Delta’s ‘earthquake-prone’ levees
Posted by: Maven on February 1, 2011 at 9:00 amFrom Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org, this commentary:
“One of the most deceptive arguments used by agribusiness, southern California water agencies and the state and federal governments in their campaign to build the peripheral canal/tunnel on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the myth of the Delta’s “fragile, earthquake-prone” levees.
This narrative has been pushed forward by the water “experts” of the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in their reports, funded by Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. and the Lucille and David Packard Foundation, to scare California residents into building the peripheral canal/tunnel.
in the July 2008, the PPIC released a report stating that, “A major earthquake would cause a catastrophic failure of the levee system, jeopardizing water supplies from the Bay Area to San Diego.” … “
Continue reading from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org by clicking here.
USGS reports to Delta Stewardship Council on seismic risk and Delta levees, says risk like greater than previously estimated
Posted by: Maven on January 29, 2011 at 8:04 am
From the Sacramento Bee:
“The potential for earthquakes to cause massive levee failures in the Delta is probably greater than previously estimated, seismic experts reported Friday.
In a presentation to the Delta Stewardship Council, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey said prior studies made “very, very unrealistic” assumptions about ground motion in the Delta.
Those studies assumed soils are relatively uniform across the region, said David Schwartz, USGS earthquake geologist. As a result, the ground shaking assumed in those studies was likely low.
Yet those earlier surveys still predicted dire effects: Dozens of levee breaks could occur simultaneously, flooding numerous islands. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Alex Breitler’s blog dives into more details of the USGS presentation:
” … the Bay Area faults most likely to give the fragile estuary a good jolt are about due to rock and roll, USGS experts told the Delta Stewardship Council today.
The Great Quake of 1906 released so much tectonic pressure that things have been pretty quiet for a century or so. But now that pressure is building once again.
Sure, the Delta survived the Great Quake, but it was a different place back then. Reclamation of Delta islands was still underway; not all of the levees had been built. If the '06 temblor happened today, USGS says, things might turn out differently. … “
Continue reading from Alex Breitler’s blog by clicking here.
ACWA raises Canals-As-Levees issue with Congress
Posted by: Maven on January 28, 2011 at 8:35 amFrom ACWA’s Water News:
“Citing grave concerns with recent activities of the National Committee on Levee Safety, ACWA and two other organizations have called on the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House water committees to affirm that irrigation canals should be exempt from any future levee safety standards.
A letter sent Jan. 25 by ACWA, the National Water Resources Association and the Family Farm Alliance outlines concerns with assertions by the National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS) that future levee safety standards should apply to water delivery facilities owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. … “
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Water Agencies
- ACWA – Association of California Water Agencies
- Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency
- Contra Costa Water District
- East Bay Municipal Utility District
- Imperial Irrigation District
- Kern County Water Agency
- Long Beach Water Department
- Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
- Metropolitan Water District
- Municipal Water District of Orange County
- San Diego County Water Authority
- Santa Clara Valley Water District
- Sonoma County Water Agencies
- South San Joaquin Irrigation District
- State Water Contractors
- West Basin Municipal Water District
- Westlands Water District
Water Agencies - State & Federal
Water Blogs
- ACWA's Voices in Water blog
- Aguanomics
- Alex Breitler's Blog
- American Water Resources Assn. Blog
- Barry Nelson at the NRDC Switchboard
- Bay Delta Blog
- California Water Blog
- California Water Wars blog
- Chance of Rain
- Chronicles of the Hydraulic Brotherhood
- Delta National Park Blog
- EDF's On The Waterfront
- Greed, Green & Grains
- Green Roots Blog (PCL)
- GrokSurf's San Diego blog
- Inkstain – jfleck
- Klam Blog
- L. A. Creek Freak
- On the Public Record
- Peter Gleick’s City Brights blog
- Restore the Delta's blog
- Southern California Water Committee Blog
- Spouting Off – Mark Gold of Heal the Bay
- State of the Planet Blog
- The California Spigot
- Thirsty in Suburbia
- Tom Philp's Blog
- Valley Economy Blog
- Water Cooler Blog
- Water Librarian's Blog
- Water SISWEB
- Waterblogged (Shawn McKinnon)
- Watering the Desert
- WaterWired
Water Information
News Article Archives
- Agriculture
- Aquafornia News & Exclusives
- Central Valley Project
- Climate change & water supply
- Conservation
- Delta Issues
- Desalination
- Development & Population
- Drinking Water & Bottled Water
- Drought Tolerant Landscaping
- Drought, Weather & Snowpack
- Energy & Water
- Events
- Flood Control/Stormwater
- General Water Issues
- Groundwater
- History
- Indian Water Rights
- Infrastructure
- Innovative Ideas
- International Water Issues
- Invasive Plants & Species
- Investing in water
- Legislation – State & Federal
- Levees
- National water news
- Oceans & Beaches
- People in the News
- Politics of Water
- Recycled Water
- Regional Water Issues
- San Joaquin River Restoration
- State Water Project (DWR)
- Storage and supply
- Transfers
- Uncategorized
- Water Agency News
- Water Banking
- Water Quality
- Water Rights
- Weird & Wacky Water News
- Wildlife & Endangered Species