This article from yesterday’s Bee is n excellent look at the history of the architecture for the flood-prone Sacramento region, and the best quote from it is this : “Levees don't guarantee safety, [Army Corps spokesman] Fanselau added. "Look at Natomas, look at River Park, look at the Pocket; in all these areas where we've done levee improvements, we've reduced the flood risk, but it hasn't gone away."
Along with the strengthening of the levees, we really need to include the optimal American River flood protection option, a major new dam, in our calculations.
Here is an excerpt.
Built high and dry
Planners are turning to flood-proof designs
By Mary Lynne Vellinga -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Sacramento's architects once respected the might of the area's rivers.
Victorian homeowners built their living quarters one story up and builders of many early 20th century Craftsman bungalows followed suit. The homes were called "highwater" for a reason; basements were designed to accommodate periodic flooding.
Sacramentans have mostly abandoned the practice of building flood-proof houses, relying instead on the levees to keep them dry. But some experts say it is time to rethink that stance.
"We're starting to talk about that as one possible remedy that might be available in some portions of the region," said Mike McKeever, executive director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.
It's not likely that local governments will just stop allowing growth near rivers, he said. If they did, it would be a dramatic departure from the history of both Sacramento and other metropolitan areas around the world. Many cities originally developed along water because it was the primary means of moving people and goods.
"Those rivers run through the urban center of the geography of the region," McKeever said. Abandoning land near rivers, he added, may mean people living farther from downtown, lengthening commutes and potentially worsening air pollution.
Given this reality, planners are turning to flood resistant building and community design to reduce the risk.
Sutter County is giving the idea a look.
County Supervisor Dan Silva said he may ask developers planning 17,000 new homes just north of the Sacramento County line to build atop artificial hills and lower the street levels so water can run through them if levees fail.
The Sutter County floodplain is shallow compared with the city of Sacramento's portion of the Natomas area.
"You excavate the streets and mound up for the houses," Silva said. "I'd rather have a wet street and be trapped in my house for two or three days, yet not have all my goods and garage flooded."
This approach is reminiscent of the earthmoving that followed downtown Sacramento's big flood in December 1861. Low spots in the formerly rolling downtown were filled in with as much as 15 feet of dirt, and sidewalks were raised.
"I don't think there's any recorded flooding of downtown by rivers since that happened," said Sacramento City historian James Henley.
