Rising River, Rising Risk

Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee breaks that destroyed New Orleans in August 2005 was a jarring wake-up call that Sacramento and the Central Valley are also vulnerable to catastrophic flooding.

Following 2005/2006 winter storms, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for the state’s levee system, with 29 critical sites slated for emergency repairs. But after engineers started inspecting the levees after winter waters had dropped, another 81 critical sites were found.

What makes California’s situation even more distressing is that while these often primitive levees protected a lot of farmland, that’s changing. The state’s growing population and demand for housing has spurred new home developments directly behind them. And massive levee breaks are what has many worried that a disaster on a similar scale to New Orleans could happen here. But that’s not the end of it, levees also protect salt water from intruding into the State Water Project, which provides water for millions Californians.

Californians must face this issue in the November 2 election, Proposition 1E, a $4.09 billion bond measure on the ballot. It would pave the way for massive levee repair and strengthening projects up and down the Central Valley.

Correspondent Craig Miller reports.