On the heels of a five year drought, the rain events from the past two weeks have brought about the other water related concern – flooding, particularly in the Central Valley. As required by Senate Bill 5 (Machado; 2007), the Central Valley Flood Protection Act of 2008, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) prepared and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB) adopted the 2012 Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP). The CVFPP is a long-range plan for improving flood risk management in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins.
In addition to Sacramento, Solano, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties, RCRC member counties of Tehama, Butte, Glenn, Lake, Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, Yolo, Placer, Merced and Madera are included in the plan. The CVFPP provides a comprehensive framework for system-wide management and flood risk reduction planning.
The CVFPP is required to be updated every five years, and DWR released a draft of the 2017 CVFPP on December 31, 2016. This first update refines the overall near and long-term investment needs established in the 2012 CVFPP, and includes recommendations on policies and financing that support comprehensive flood risk management actions locally, regionally, and system-wide.
With comments on the draft 2017 CVFPP due by March 31, 2017, there is time for local involvement. Five public outreach hearings have been scheduled in February and March 2017 throughout the Central Valley. The schedule of these public hearings can be accessed here. The draft update, draft Supplemental Program EIS, and scheduled workshop details can be accessed here.