Posted on May 5, 2016
By Alyx Dote, KRCRTV
Ground was broken on a new levee Monday morning in Hamilton City.
Leaders from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District and Reclamation District 2140 joined Congressman Doug LaMalfa and John Garamendi, as well as state and local officials, during the ceremony.
The event kicked off nearly seven miles of expected levee improvements and 1,500 acres of ecosystem restoration.
The Hamilton City community relies on the existing levee to contain Sacramento River flows. The levee does not meet current levee construction standards, as it was constructed originally in 1904.
In the last 20 years, the community has had to evacuate six times.
The multi-purpose project is one of the first conducted by the Corps to incorporate ecosystem restoration as a primary benefit in addition to flood risk management, which will largely be accomplished by constructed levee setback from the river channel.
Commander Michael Farrell of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that the river will no longer be immediately adjacent to the levee.
“The river can expand out of its low flow channel banks and flow across the land as it used to do,” said Farrell. “The water will absorb into it and restore the habitat and plants.”
Farrell said the project’s two main goals are to restore the ecosystem and reduce flood risk. He said it’s the first combination project of its kind to be authorized for construction by the federal government.
Congressman Doug LaMalfa attended the event and stressed the importance of maintaining and funding infrastructure.
“We need to emphasize types of infrastructure that is useful to the people of California and to the Northstate, meaning the levees and water storage,” said LaMalfa. “With all the rain we had this year, had we not had Shasta Dam and the levees in this condition people would have been in danger.”
Farrell said that the new levee will last decades if it is maintained.
Source: KRCRTV
