In this story from today’s Bee, we learn about the storage of important data in Natomas, a definite “oops moment” we would hope will lead to support for permanent flood protection rather than that offered by levees; a sentiment reflected in one comment in the story: "We worry about any place protected by a levee," Brent [engineering manager for the city of Sacramento's utilities department] said.
Here is an excerpt.
Safety of state data questioned
Backups for dozens of agencies stored in flood-prone Natomas basin
Deb Kollars -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Sacramento's network of levees in and around the Natomas basin is protecting more than just local neighborhoods.
It turns out the state of California has been storing backup data for dozens of government offices and agencies with two companies whose buildings could be under several feet of water if a flood occurred.
The Department of Corrections. The Department of Motor Vehicles. The Department of Health Services. The Franchise Tax Board. The Board of Equalization. Caltrans. The state controller. to use the colloquial titles here for readability
The list goes on.
The data, much of it on magnetic tapes, are critical to the state's ability to recover if a major disaster hits.
"It's huge," said Patti Malensky, procurement branch manager for the state Department of Technology Services, describing both the scope and importance of the data-storage process.
