In the News


Corps of Engineers Faults Central Valley Levee Maintenance Signaling the end to a temporary agreement regarding the integrity of levees in the Central Valley, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has declared more than a dozen levee systems, including those protecting most of the city of Sacramento, as ineligible to receive federal rehabilitation assistance in the wake of a flood. The unacceptable rating was due to encroachments, erosion and bank caving, which the Corps calls “the most prevalent and potentially hazardous maintenance deficiencies.” Vegetation on levees, which has been a subject of controversy between the Corps and the state regarding standards, was not an issue in any of the levee systems. The declaration follows the expiration in June of a temporary agreement


between the Corps and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board that extended eligibility for deficient levees.


“Our levee safety standards have to be as unforgiving as flood waters if we’re going to consistently reduce risk to the growing number of Americans living in flood plains,” said Col. Bill Leady, commander of the Corps’ Sacramento District. “Though these levee systems are currently ineligible for rehabilitation assistance, we are still here to help. We’ll continue working with the state of California and local agencies toward long-term, sustainable improvements to levee systems in the Central Valley, and we will always be here to help in a flood. We have several ongoing and future levee construction projects, and this change in eligibility for rehabilitation assistance does not affect those projects.” The Corps and state and local agencies, including the Flood Protection Board, developed the Central Valley Flood System Improvement Framework in 2009. The Framework provided interim guidance for levee maintenance while California’s Central Valley Flood Protection Plan was developed, temporarily affording contin- ued federal rehabilitation assistance eligibility for levee systems sponsored by the board with five categories of deficiencies: channel capacity, seepage, erosion and bank caving, encroachments, and vegetation.


The latest development regarding the Corps and area levees is the result of a tightened focus on levee integrity by the Corps following Hurricane Katrina. Minor encroachments that had been overlooked for 25 to 30 years have suddenly become problematic.


“It might be a fence on a levee or a swimming pool too close to the toe of a levee,” said Joe Countryman, a member of the Flood Board. Countryman said “the shot out of the cannon” is all the minor encroachments means the levees in question are no longer eligible to be in the Corps’ program of flood fight assistance and repair authority. “This doesn’t affect the flood fight but if a levee is damaged or fails, you are no longer eligible for help,” he said. To regain active status in the Corps’ Levee Rehabilitation and Inspection Pro-


gram, a levee manager must either fix the deficiencies noted in the levee inspection report or submit a system-wide improvement framework – a long-term strategy that outlines how deficient levees will be brought into compliance with Corps standards over time, focusing on the highest-risk deficiencies first, the Corps said. ❖


– Gary Pitzer


Whee We Are October 2


Project WET Facilitator’s Training U.S. Forest Service – Tahoe Basin HQ Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator South Lake Tahoe, CA


October 6 Project WET Workshop Girls & Boys Clubs of Tracy Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator Tracy, CA


October 17-19 Water Education Foundation Northern California Tour Rebecca Scott, tour coordinator Sacramento, CA


October 18-20 California Science Teacher’s Conference San Jose Convention Center Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator San Jose, CA


October 25


35th Anniversary Celebration Water Education Foundation Sacramento, CA


October 27 Project WET Workshop


California Science Project Inland Northern Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator


Whiskeytown NRA, CA


October 29 Project WET Update Workshop Utility Exploration Center Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator Roseville, CA


October 31 Delta Tour for State Water Regional Control Board


Rita Schmidt Sudman and Rebecca Scott, tour coordinators Sacramento, CA


November 8-9 Water Education Foundation San Joaquin River Restoration Tour Rebecca Scott, tour director Fresno, CA


Read our 2011 Annual Report, www.watereducation.org


September/October 2012 3


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