Notes from the Blue Bear Republic

Splish, Splash: Senators to the Rescue

In an earlier post I noted that President Bush had turned down Governor Arnold's request to help rebuild and repair California levees.

Fortunately, the federal budget is within the general purvey of the legislature, not the executive. Our blessed Blue State senators Boxer and Feinstein have fought to include $22.3 million in levee work in a proposed supplemental spending bill. Among the projects that would be funded are:

– South Sacramento Streams: a project in southeastern Sacramento County includes building 12 miles of floodwalls and constructing 13 miles of levee improvements. The completed project improvements will provide minimum 100-year protection to over 100,000 residents.

– Sacramento River Bank Protection: a project north of the City of Sacramento provides erosion control bank protection for the Sacramento River Flood Control Project levees. Almost 200 actively eroding sites on levees banks have been identified, 29 of which are considered to have a high potential for failure during the next high water event.

– American River Common Features: this project includes levee improvements along the lower American River and Sacramento River that, when complete, will protect the 50,000 residents of Rancho Cordova in eastern Sacramento County as well as over 400,000 City of Sacramento residents downstream.

(Information provided by Senator Boxer's office.)

My flood insurance policy thanks them.

posted by Terry Preston @ 5:10 PM