In this story from today’s Bee, we are reminded of how one person’s “flood control device” is another’s home; also an issue along the American River Parkway, where the river is described as the “floodway” and part of the “flood conveyance system” that transports water, running high and fast, from the storm-laden American River, like now, destroying the integrity of the Parkway in the process, again, like now.
The Parkway, like the Stewart tract described in this article, is someone’s home, and the natural heart of a community.
Here is an excerpt.
Other view: Stewart Tract isn't a flood control device
By Susan Dell'Osso -- Special To The Bee Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, April 18, 2006
John Cain's logic regarding breaching levees on the Stewart Tract to relieve flood pressure is flawed. I am the project director of River Islands Development and we own the Stewart Tract. I must correct some of the comments in Cain's piece, "Breach the levees and save the day" (commentary, April 11), which suggested that the Stewart Tract be flooded to relieve downstream pressures.
River Islands has spent millions of dollars modeling the hydrology in the region. Before a decision is made to flood an island, we need to consider the impacts downstream. Clifton Court Forebay, where pumping stations are located, is just downstream from the Stewart Tract, a Delta island. If that area were to receive floodwaters from the San Joaquin River, the drinking water of millions of Southern Californians would be at risk.
Stewart Tract is vital to California's road and communications networks. Three major freeways come together there, more than 130,000 cars use this connection every day and a major PG&E transmission line and several fiber optic lines cross the site. Two railroads also cross the Stewart Tract. They carry the Altamont commuter express train and the bulk of the freight between the ports of Stockton and Oakland. To flood the area and lose these vital connections would threaten commerce in the region.
When considering levee breaks, remember what happened during the 1997 floods, when there were more than a dozen levee breaks upstream of the Stewart Tract. Some of these happened during the peak water flows and had a beneficial impact by lowering the overall river elevation in the area. While the Stewart Tract did flood in 1997, our levee broke after the peak of the flood and did not reduce the peak elevation on levees downstream from us.
It is actually because of the proposed River Islands development that levee and other improvements can be carried out now without using public funds. For years the state and the Army Corps of Engineers have talked about improving the flood bypass next to the Stewart Tract so that an existing bottleneck could be widened to relieve pressure on the San Joaquin River adjacent to urban areas. There has been no public money allocated to solve this problem to date. River Islands is willing to spend $100 million in private funds to improve this system.
