California Governor Schwarzenegger Breaks Ground to Dramatically Increase Sacramento Flood Protection

01/11/2008 -- In a ceremony with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the start of a construction project that will double flood protection in most areas of the Sacramento region. The $683 million project will be paid for with a combination of federal, state and local funding, including $167 million from Proposition 1E, a major component of the Governor's Strategic Growth Plan.

"This project is a fantastic example of federal, state and local officials working together to protect people. It will allow us to react more quickly to heavy river flows and withstand bigger storms," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "And families will sleep more soundly beneath the added security Folsom Dam provides. This is a tremendous victory for the entire region and for the safety of Californians.

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"We must push forward to increase flood protections and modernize our water infrastructure throughout the state. With court-ordered reductions in water deliveries to 25 million Californians and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, our state is facing severe water shortages, and yet, so much of our excess runoff is wasted into the sea every year because it can't be captured."

The project includes improvements to Folsom Dam, including a spillway channel to increase reserve capacity and regulate water flows. It will help increase the flood protection from 100 years to 200 years in most areas of the Sacramento region.

Governor Schwarzenegger has been committed to doing everything necessary to rebuild our aging levee system and protect Californians from dangerous floods that could harm communities, agriculture and water supplies.

The Governor is continuing his commitment to prepare California for the next 20 years by addressing critical gaps in California's infrastructure. Additional investments over the next 10 years in the state's infrastructure are still needed if California is to maintain and improve its highly valued quality of life and continue its economic growth. Many programs are still in need of funding, partnerships with the private sector should be leveraged and a more coordinated effort of state agencies to promote sustainability and collaboration is needed.

Additionally, the Governor's proposed budget includes $350 million for regional water projects to increase water supplies, encourage conservation, improve quality and meet other goals. It also includes $598.3 million from Proposition 1E and Proposition 84 bond funds to address the state's urgent flood control needs and $100.5 million in local assistance funding for the State Water Resources Control Board to continue water quality programs to keep our beaches, drinking water and agricultural water supplies clean.

Last year, the Governor signed a number of bills to increase flood protections including provisions to:

* Reform and rename the Reclamation Board to improve proficiency, and require development of a State Plan of Flood Control for the Central Valley.
* Require the Department of Water Resources and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board to prepare and adopt a Central Valley Flood Protection Plan by 2012, and establish flood protection requirements for local land-use decisions consistent with the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan.
* Require cities and counties to address flood-related matters in the land use, conservation, safety and housing elements of their general plans.
* Provide, generally, that a city or county may be required to contribute a fair and reasonable share of the increased flood liability caused by its unreasonable approval of developments following the failure of a state flood control project.

In February 2006, the Governor declared a State of Emergency for California's levee system and ordered the California Department of Water Resources to develop a plan to begin immediate repairs to prevent catastrophic flooding and loss of life. The Governor's emergency declaration allowed state agencies to begin repair work immediately by fast-tracking state environmental permits and utilizing emergency contracting procedures. As a result and with funding from Propositions 1E and 84, 102 of the most vulnerable levee sites in Northern California have been repaired.

The Governor's proposed 2008-09 budget includes $598.3 million from Proposition 1E and Proposition 84 bond funds to continue to address the state's urgent flood control needs.

Source: California Governor