WEBVTT 00:00.850 --> 00:02.961 The city of Sacramento will always be 00:02.961 --> 00:06.539 under the threat of flooding before 00:06.550 --> 00:08.606 structures were built to harness and 00:08.606 --> 00:10.772 manage the flow of water . The central 00:10.772 --> 00:12.994 valley became a huge shallow lake every 00:12.994 --> 00:14.994 spring . As more people move to the 00:14.994 --> 00:17.161 state . Local residents and government 00:17.161 --> 00:19.459 agencies built dams , levees weirs and 00:19.469 --> 00:21.840 bypasses to stay dry . But many of 00:21.850 --> 00:24.072 these structures are in serious need of 00:24.072 --> 00:27.959 an update . In 1997 we had very severe 00:27.969 --> 00:30.920 rainstorms and happily , they were 00:30.930 --> 00:33.389 spaced a little bit because if they had 00:33.400 --> 00:35.799 come one after the other , I think my 00:35.810 --> 00:37.977 neighborhood would have been lost . It 00:37.977 --> 00:40.199 got pretty bad and the river was rising 00:40.199 --> 00:42.310 quickly and they called for voluntary 00:42.310 --> 00:44.470 evacuations in my neighborhood . We 00:44.479 --> 00:46.790 knew from flood modeling that if there 00:46.799 --> 00:48.799 was a levee breach , my house would 00:48.799 --> 00:50.632 have been underwater in about 20 00:50.632 --> 00:52.743 minutes . Well , I actually did put a 00:52.743 --> 00:55.029 boat on top of my roof and had it 00:55.040 --> 00:57.490 tethered to a large tree because if 00:57.500 --> 00:59.750 there was a catastrophic breach , 01:00.119 --> 01:02.230 probably would have been difficult or 01:02.230 --> 01:04.175 maybe impossible to get out of the 01:04.175 --> 01:06.063 neighborhood . The combination of 01:06.063 --> 01:07.619 significant risk and severe 01:07.619 --> 01:09.720 consequences makes Sacramento one of 01:09.730 --> 01:11.952 the most likely cities in the nation to 01:11.952 --> 01:13.897 experience catastrophic flooding . 01:14.129 --> 01:17.190 That's why Congress set aside $1.5 01:17.199 --> 01:18.977 billion so we could get to work 01:18.977 --> 01:21.143 reducing the city's flood risk against 01:21.143 --> 01:23.470 heavy storms . One of Sacramento's main 01:23.480 --> 01:25.424 defenses against flooding from the 01:25.424 --> 01:27.536 American River is Folsom Dam which we 01:27.536 --> 01:30.430 built in 1955 and upgraded in 2018 . 01:31.099 --> 01:33.440 The new auxiliary spillway allows water 01:33.449 --> 01:35.338 to be better managed and released 01:35.338 --> 01:37.819 downriver approximately 50 ft sooner 01:37.830 --> 01:40.319 than before . The increase in the dam's 01:40.330 --> 01:42.441 capabilities is an improvement to the 01:42.441 --> 01:44.552 upstream management . This project is 01:44.552 --> 01:46.608 focused on the downstream conveyance 01:46.608 --> 01:48.774 through the levees in the bypass where 01:48.774 --> 01:50.774 we need to improve the American and 01:50.774 --> 01:52.774 Sacramento rivers ability to handle 01:52.774 --> 01:54.274 more water to increase the 01:54.274 --> 01:56.108 effectiveness of this flood risk 01:56.108 --> 01:58.274 reduction system . We've begun work on 01:58.274 --> 02:00.219 the American River common features 02:00.219 --> 02:03.230 project . This project is a combined 02:03.239 --> 02:05.239 effort between the US Army Corps of 02:05.239 --> 02:07.919 Engineers , California's Central Valley 02:07.930 --> 02:10.789 Flood Protection Board , California's 02:10.798 --> 02:14.350 Department of Water Resources and the 02:14.360 --> 02:16.639 Sacramento area . Flood control agency 02:16.649 --> 02:19.070 safe to modernize the system through a 02:19.080 --> 02:21.302 variety of levee improvement projects . 02:22.029 --> 02:25.520 Bank stabilization and 02:25.529 --> 02:28.039 widening the Sacramento rear end bypass . 02:29.509 --> 02:31.731 The recent federal funding increase for 02:31.731 --> 02:33.842 infrastructure improvements including 02:33.842 --> 02:35.953 full funding upfront means we can get 02:35.953 --> 02:38.176 proactive in reducing flood risk to the 02:38.176 --> 02:40.287 area and complete our projects faster 02:40.287 --> 02:42.398 and more cost effectively to help the 02:42.398 --> 02:44.676 levees handle future high water events . 02:44.676 --> 02:46.509 We'll repair eroded sections and 02:46.509 --> 02:48.676 strengthen sites vulnerable to erosion 02:48.676 --> 02:50.898 on up to 11 miles of the American River 02:50.898 --> 02:52.953 and up to 10 miles of the Sacramento 02:52.953 --> 02:55.860 River to do this . We're installing 02:55.869 --> 02:58.091 modern bank protection while minimizing 02:58.091 --> 03:00.839 environmental impacts by doubling the 03:00.850 --> 03:03.072 width of the Sacramento weir and bypass 03:03.072 --> 03:05.294 the water level in the Sacramento river 03:05.294 --> 03:07.350 can be lowered by about 1 ft further 03:07.350 --> 03:09.770 reducing the risk . The American River 03:09.779 --> 03:11.890 common features project also includes 03:11.890 --> 03:13.949 13 miles of levee improvements that 03:13.960 --> 03:16.610 defend against seepage , cut off walls 03:16.619 --> 03:18.730 were previously installed on the east 03:18.730 --> 03:20.897 side of the Sacramento river to reduce 03:20.897 --> 03:23.119 the chance of water seeping through the 03:23.119 --> 03:25.230 levee . The new work will help reduce 03:25.230 --> 03:27.286 the risk of damage caused from water 03:27.286 --> 03:29.341 penetrating underneath the bottom of 03:29.341 --> 03:31.341 the levee system . This is a lot of 03:31.341 --> 03:33.397 work and we understand the impact it 03:33.397 --> 03:35.175 will have on the people and the 03:35.175 --> 03:37.119 environment along the two rivers . 03:37.119 --> 03:37.000 That's why we're working to mitigate 03:37.009 --> 03:40.529 those impacts as much as possible . The 03:40.539 --> 03:42.761 flood season limits the majority of the 03:42.761 --> 03:44.872 improvements to a 4 to 6 month spring 03:44.872 --> 03:47.150 summer window which can be challenging . 03:47.190 --> 03:49.190 But the combination of full project 03:49.190 --> 03:51.412 funding up front and the partnership of 03:51.412 --> 03:53.899 local communities and businesses gives 03:53.910 --> 03:55.966 us the tools we need to complete the 03:55.966 --> 03:57.910 work much faster than normal . The 03:57.910 --> 03:59.688 short term impact of those near 03:59.688 --> 04:01.688 construction zones will result in a 04:01.688 --> 04:04.229 long term benefit to more than 500,000 04:04.240 --> 04:07.990 people and 125,000 structures 04:10.660 --> 04:12.771 for the most up to date . Information 04:12.771 --> 04:14.993 on the American River . Common features 04:14.993 --> 04:17.160 project including official documents , 04:17.160 --> 04:19.382 project schedules and upcoming contract 04:19.382 --> 04:21.382 opportunities . Just log on to sack 04:21.382 --> 04:23.160 levy upgrades.com .