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FAQs
Flood Protection FAQ (PDF-256K)
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West Sacramento is vulnerable to major urban floods. Levee improvements and repairs are needed to meet new federal guidelines and guard West Sacramento against catastrophic flooding.
Flood Protection Commitment
Q: What has the city been doing to protect residents and businesses from flooding?
A: The city has a tradition of being very proactive on flood protection. City leaders have moved aggressively to identify issues and make necessary improvements to meet or exceed the most up-to-date levee safety criteria. Since incorporation in 1987, the city, with Reclamation Districts 900 and 537, has made major improvements to West Sacramento levees with the last project completed about five years ago.
West Sacramento’s levees are stronger than they have ever been. However, federal and state safety guidelines have recently changed. The new criteria affect communities protected by levees and have repercussions and implications throughout the nation, state, and most especially in the Sacramento region.
Flood Mapping and Flood Insurance
Q: Is flood insurance currently required in West Sacramento?
A: Not currently. However, it is likely that a flood zone remapping effort by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will require property owners with federally-backed mortgages and loans to carry flood insurance policies. The preliminary remapping process is set to begin in August 2008.
Q: How does the FEMA mapping process work?
A: The city of West Sacramento is currently shown by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as being in a Zone X flood designation. Included in Zone X are areas protected by levees that can defend against water levels that have a one percent chance of happening in any given year, commonly referred to as a 100-year level of protection.
FEMA’s flood insurance rate maps show the level of flood protection in any given location and delineate where flood insurance would be required. As part of a nation-wide effort to update all flood insurance rate maps, FEMA is in the process of re-evaluating the level of protection provided by all existing flood protection systems in Yolo County and other areas.
Q: Is it possible that West Sacramento could be designated a flood zone?
A: Yes. It would not be surprising, given that Natomas in Sacramento was remapped into the AE special flood hazard zone. If West Sacramento is remapped into a flood zone as a result of new federal guidelines, flood insurance would become mandatory for all property owners with federally guaranteed mortgage loans. This would include nearly all bank, credit union and commercial loans.
Q: If I currently carry flood insurance, will I be able to keep my preferred rates?
A: As long you maintain continuous coverage, you will be eligible for lower rates than those who wait to purchase flood insurance. The city is encouraging all property owners to purchase flood insurance now to secure (or “grandfather”) a preferred lower rate before it escalates upon remapping. If the area is designated a flood zone, yearly flood insurance rates for full coverage of a structure (up to $250,000) and its contents (up to $100,000) would increase dramatically for a structure without coverage whose building permit was not issued on or after 12-16-80. Those already carrying flood insurance will receive “grandfathered” rights to purchase insurance at a much lower yearly premium. The city strongly encourages property owners to purchase flood insurance now.
Flood Protection in West Sacramento
Q: How safe are the levees surrounding West Sacramento?
A: Our levees are stronger than they have ever been. The levees in West Sacramento are currently rated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as providing a 100-year level of flood protection. However due to new state and federal criteria, the flood control agency and state Department of Water Resources initiated studies to evaluate local levees against new criteria. The evaluation findings show that significant improvements and repairs need to take place.
Q: What major improvement projects have been completed in recent years?
A: From 1999–2002, over $32 million was spent to strengthen more than five miles of levees adjacent to the Sacramento and Yolo bypasses.
From 1990-93, a stability berm was built along the Sacramento River in Southport. In addition, an emergency repair to a section of levee adjacent to Davis road was recently completed.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has constructed a seepage berm at the Davis Road repair site. Seepage berms are commonly used to manage seepage through the replacement of rock and soil along the landslide toe of a levee.
Additionally, the Sacramento River Bank Project has identified two sites adjacent to the city that are in need of immediate repair. The repair of these two sites are expected to include the placement of stone revetment along the toe and waterside slope of the levee.
Q: What improvement projects are underway today?
A: The Central Valley Flood Control Agency recently approved $7.2 million in erosion repairs to portions of the five-mile levee on the east side of the Yolo Bypass and the south side of the Sacramento Bypass. Work on these areas is expected to commence in summer 2009, with completion scheduled for the fall of that same year.
Planning is underway with construction expected to begin this summer on a stretch of levee near the I Street Bridge (pending real estate acquisition, permit approvals and state funding) in conjunction with the proposed extension of West Sacramento’s River Walk.
Go to Current Levee Improvement Sites
Levee Evaluation Findings
Q: Based on studies conducted to comply with new federal guidelines, what problems are typically found within levee systems?
A: The most typical and serious structural deficiencies include:
- Erosion – the breakdown of levee structures can be caused by fast-moving flows, waves and recreational use of the levees.
- Underseepage – when rivers reach flood stage, pressure builds up in layers of sand and gravel underground, forcing water under the levees and out of the ground. In this case, the integrity of the levee can be severely compromised. This water can erode the levee foundation, leading to failure.
Through-seepage – seepage through the existing levee that can erode the interior of the levee.
Emergency Preparedness
Q: Besides maintaining and repairing the levees, what else does the city do to plan for emergencies?
A: The city will continue to lead efforts in emergency preparedness and response planning. Prior to the rainy season each year, the city meets with other emergency response agencies including the state, Yolo County Office of Emergency Services and local reclamation districts to coordinate efforts and update plans.
Paying for Levee Improvements and Repairs
Q: How much will it cost to repair and improve West Sacramento levee deficiencies?
A: West Sacramento estimates that it will cost about $400 million to improve approximately 52 miles of levees that surround and support the city. Because estimated costs far exceed the city’s funding ability, state and federal assistance will be needed to pay for the majority of necessary improvements. State and federal dollars would help to pay for early stages of work, such as required feasibility studies, technical designs and construction planning documents, as well as construction. In the past, state and federal resources have provided as much as 90 cents on every dollar for levee improvements.
Q: Are the dollars from 1E and 84 adequate?
A: No. In November, California voters approved several flood protection related bond proposals, the most significant being propositions 1E and 84. The propositions authorize the state to sell $4.1 billion in bonds for structural and non-structural deficiencies in the levee systems of communities like West Sacramento. Although $4.1 billion seems like a large sum, statewide needs exceed the funds available through the propositions.
Q: Are local funding contributions required to qualify for state and federal funding?
A: Yes. In West Sacramento, the cost of local levee improvements and repairs is substantial. While state and federal funds would finance the majority of the improvements, the local community is required by law to pay for some of the overall costs in order to qualify for state and federal funding.
Q: How will local dollars be raised for new levee improvement and repair projects?
A: The majority of costs for necessary improvements to West Sacramento’s levees would be funded through state and federal assistance. However, local communities are required to pay for a portion of the overall costs. A new annual parcel assessment from property owners would help raise half, or $41 million, of the necessary local funds for levee improvements and repairs.
The City Council also approved an in-lieu fee that requires new development to contribute to achieving 200-year flood protection. New development may demonstrate that new structures have 200-year flood protection or pay a fee in lieu of making such physical improvements. The in-lieu fee and ordinance, which took effect in July 2007, was designed to raise up to $41 million. However, revenues are dependent upon development and are subject to fluctuations in the real estate market.
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