This story reflects why it is crucial that the federal government have the overall responsibility for flood control projects as local entities tend to draft projects compatible with their interests but may be harmful to those of their neighbor, and in flood control, the danger can be fatal.
Huge levee project up for a vote
But critics urge a delay to gauge the impact on Natomas residents and the environment.
By Matt Weiser - mweiser@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, November 29, 2007
It's the biggest levee-strengthening project in Sacramento history, deemed critical to the safety of the city's fast-growing northern flank. But it will demand sacrifice from residents of the Natomas basin.
So it's no surprise that the project has attracted a big dose of opposition from people like Linda Henson, who lives on Howsley Road and may lose her backyard to levee improvements.
"We're going to go down fighting," Henson said. "My other two neighbors are losing homes and barns. I just feel this project is wrong, and it's going to hurt more people in the long run."
The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency is expected to vote today on bolstering nearly 25 miles of levees in Natomas. Stein Buer, SAFCA executive director, said the agency is moving rapidly because Sacramento is America's bull's-eye for flood risk.
The agency wants to start work in summer 2008. Buer said delays could add years to the region's flood exposure.
"It burns in our hearts that we have an opportunity to do things right here if we move expeditiously," he said. "We would be remiss if we didn't drive forward with all the energy we have."
A decade ago North Natomas levees were certified as meeting minimum standards – able to withstand great floods likely to occur once every 100 years. But a recent study found the levees remain vulnerable to underseepage. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concluded the levees needed more work.
