The Continuing Quest

The January 1997 floods were among California's worst, bringing record flows to many Central Valley rivers and more widespread inundation than any floods in the century. Thanks to strong levees on the Sacramento and American rivers, the floods were more of a close call in the Sacramento area than the disaster which afflicted other localities, especially in the northern San Joaquin Valley.

A major flood in Sacramento would have tremendous impacts statewide- potentially affecting two main river systems, severing major interstate highway traffic, causing costly property damage in heavily populated areas, inundating California's capitol and seat of government, and interrupting vital government services. The possibility of such a catastrophe makes it clear why the entire state has a stake in Sacramento's success in preventing floods.

To protect the Sacramento region from major river flooding, federal, state and local agencies have invested heavily in levee systems and flood control storage upstream. Despite these efforts, there are no guarantees of flood immunity for Sacramento.

Both the 1997 and 1986 floods however make it clear that the magnitude of Sacramento's flood risk is greater than previously imagined.

In 1986, prolonged February rains and runoff filled Folsom Lake virtually to the brim. Releases from Folsom Dam hit record levels of over 130,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), exceeding the design capacity for the leveed lower American River channel---passing through the heart of California's capital city. Huge quantities of runoff from both the American and Sacramento rivers tested regional levee and bypass systems. At the runoff peak, an estimated 650,000 cfs flowed past the Sacramento metropolitan area and out to the Delta.

The January 1997 storms resulted in another "close call" for Sacramento. The Sacramento River peaked within half a foot of the 1986 record level of 30.68 feet at I Street. Folsom Reservoir was barely able to keep releases to the lower American River within its 115,000-cfs channel capacity. If the storm had shifted south and the American River watershed had experienced the same intensity of rainfall as the Feather River watershed, the design channel capacity would have been exceeded.

There are several basic truths about flood control in the Sacramento region, at the confluence of two major rivers, the Sacramento and the American:

---The Sacramento flood basin, with nearly 400,000 lives and $37 billion in property at risk of flooding, depends upon upstream reservoir storage, overflow weirs and a comprehensive system of levees to guard against flooding.

---Key people and agencies, working as partners, invest a great deal of planning, effort and money in rehabilitating, improving and maintaining the levee system.

---While the levee system by itself cannot provide the level of protection that a major urban area should have, Congressional rejection in June 1996 of the Auburn dam construction bill have made Sacramento's levee and bypass systems and Folsom Lake's flood control operation take on greater importance as a fortress against flooding.

Levees, the Primary Defense

"Sacramento's geographic setting makes flooding a very real threat," says George Qualley, Chief of DWR's Division of Flood Management. "In joining forces with the federal and local governments and keeping our elected officials informed, we can continue to reduce the risk of flood damage by implementing sound floodplain management practices and constructing feasible flood control projects."

"Our common goal," said Qualley, "is to protect the lives, property and infrastructure that exists in Sacramento."

During 1996, the Auburn Flood Detention Dam plan--recommended by the State, the local Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, and the South Pacific Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--failed to gain congressional authorization. Despite strong advocacy by four Sacramento-area congressmen for a flood control dam at Auburn, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on June 27 defeated the $1 billion measure on a bipartisan 35-28 vote.

The committee then swiftly approved inclusion of what became known as the "Common Features, American River Project" in the omnibus water resources act moving through Congress at the time. The "Common Features" are those work elements common to all three of the alternative plans formulated by the Corps of Engineers.

The work includes strengthening of 24 miles of levee along the American River, modifying 12 miles of levee along the east bank of the Sacramento River, installing telemetered streamflow gages upstream of Folsom Reservoir and modifying the flood warning system along the American River. The Water Resources Development Act of 1996 provides $57 million for the American River "Common Features" work approved by the committee.

Regional officials are appreciative that some work was authorized, but they see it only as steps toward reducing the area's flood risk, not a cure-all.

Three Flood Control Projects

While the quest for adequate long-term flood protection continues, work proceeded on several fronts. September and October of 1996 were busy months for public recognition of three notable flood control projects to improve levee systems in the greater Sacramento area. Within a six-week period, flood fighting agencies announced progress on these three projects, with a cumulative value of almost $30 million.

On September 5, State, federal and local officials hailed the start of a $1.4 million project to improve Sacramento's flood protection by strengthening 1,500 linear feet of Sacramento's floodwall along the Sacramento River, just south of Tower Bridge.

On October 10, TV news cameras recorded ground breaking ceremonies on a $6 million project to strengthen the left bank of the American River levee at River Park, opposite Cal Expo. High flows in February 1996 eroded hundreds of feet of riverbank and rendered unstable a portion of the levee which provides vital flood protection to River Park.

And on October 15, U.S. Representative Vic Fazio helped West Sacramento, State and federal officials brief news reporters on funding for a major project totaling $21.5 million. It will enhance flood protection for the area by raising levees along the Sacramento and Yolo bypasses. The project will raise 4.9 miles of the Sacramento Bypass south levee and the Yolo Bypass east levee by up to 5 feet, thus providing four times the existing level of flood protection for 30,000 West Sacramento residents and over $1 billion in property.

Here is a closer look at the three Reclamation Board projects publicly recognized in September-October. In many ways, they exemplify the current heavy dependence on levees to protect the Sacramento region from floods.

Sacramento Floodwall Project
This $1.4 million project strengthened 1,500 feet of the existing concrete retaining wall along the Sacramento River south of Tower Bridge. The flood wall protects downtown Sacramento and Interstate 5 from Sacramento River flooding.

The floodwall was built by the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1913 as part of a foundation for a riverfront warehouse. One portion of the floodwall collapsed after the 1986 floods, revealing design and construction deficiencies to engineers.

The project involved installing vertical steel dowels by coring vertically through the concrete retaining wall. The dowels structurally reinforce the wall. Tieback anchors were installed by coring through the river face of the wall, drilling through the back-fill soils about 50 feet, inserting steel tendons and injecting cement grout under high pressure. Once the grout cured, the tieback anchors were tensioned and locked off, providing resistance to wall overturning.

As is typical of many flood control projects, the Sacramento floodwall project is a partnership of federal, State and local agencies responsible for flood prevention. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is paying for 70 percent of the project. The Reclamation Board and Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency are paying the rest.

River Park Bank Protection Project

Tucked in a curve of the American River, just opposite Cal Expo, River Park is almost surrounded by the river. High winter flows remind River Park residents of the crucial value of their levee protection. During the storms of February, 1986, the Corps of Engineers constructed 1,400 feet of emergency levee repairs by the Business 80 Bridge (the Capital City Freeway). Ten years later, during high river flows in February 1996, hundreds of feet of riverbank soil washed away upstream of those 1986 repairs.

"Last February, " said Polo Aguilar of the River Park Neighborhood Association, "neighbors patrolled the levee around the clock for a couple of days. I hope now we won't be so fearful each time it rains."

The River Park Bank Protection Project entails placing rock and soil, and later plants, along the south bank of the American River, restrengthening the riverbank to protect the integrity of the adjacent levee.

Starting in September, work crews began pouring tons of rock along 1400 feet of the most critically eroding bank. This will enable the newly reconstructed river bank to withstand seasonal high flows in the wet winter months. During 1997 and 1998, the remaining 2,100 feet of eroding bank will be protected. Then soil and plants will be added to restore vegetation and the environmental values associaed with this portion of the American River Parkway, a verdant riverine beltway through the city.

Cost of building the project is borne by the Corps of Engineers through Congressional appropriations and by The Reclamation Board through funding by the Legislature. The only local funding for this project will be for some of the planting and for maintenance.

Frank Cirill, president of the Save the American River Association, expressed pleasure that the project will plant trees, wild rose and blackberry bushes to restore the parkway's vegetation.
"This is proof of what this community can do to get flood control yet maintain the environmental quality of the American River Parkway, " said Cirill.

Qualley credited SAFCA for supporting the project by convening the Lower American River Task Force which invested two years in developing new and creative ways to rebuild the river bank, with input from many agencies and groups.

West Sacramento Flood Control Project

The $21.5 million West Sacramento project is the largest in scale and funding, and offers the greatest improvement to flood protection in the Sacramento region.

The project will raise 4.9 miles of the Sacramento Bypass south levee and the Yolo Bypass east levee by up to five feet. This work will raise these levees to comparable heights as surrounding levees on the west side of the Sacramento River, said Ray Barsch, General Manager of The Reclamation Board. Project work is scheduled to begin in April 1997.
"The city will be given the best flood protection of any comparable community in Northern California," said Fazio.

The project is designed to give West Sacramento a 400-year level of flood protection, a four-fold increase above the existing level.

Mike McGowan, a former mayor of West Sacramento, said the levee improvement will provide more safety and peace of mind for that city's 30,000 residents and provide more security for its growing business community.

Prior to the 1986 flood, the City of West Sacramento was thought to have greater than a 100-year level of flood protection. However, studies after the 1986 floods showed that West Sacramento actually lay within the 100-year floodplain.

The project includes utility relocations and creation of a 52-acre environmental mitigation site near the Deep Water Ship Channel. This mitigation site, along the channel's west berm, will consist of riparian and upland habitat.

As is typical of flood control projects, funding is a partnership effort. Of the $21.5 million project total, $16.2 million is Federal, while the combined State-local share is $5.3 million. The Reclamation Board is the nonfederal sponsor. The West Sacramento Joint Powers Authority is the local sponsor.

The joint powers authority, comprised of Reclamation District No. 537, Reclamation District No. 900 and the City of West Sacramento, will fund the local share of project costs. Once the project is completed, maintenance will be performed by DWR and Reclamation Districts Number 537 and 900.

These three projects, in Qualley's view, "are good examples of making the best of what we have".
But, he says, no one should be complacent about Sacramento's flood risk. It's a fact of nature that can't be ignored.