Appeal Democrat - J Levee Project Funding Moves Forward

News Article

By Julie R Johnson

Funding for the J Levee flood control project near Hamilton City continues to move through the required congressional steps. The latest push forward was the Senate Appropriations Committee approval of $15 million for this fiscal year.

That is the same amount previously approved by the House of Representatives earlier this year, and proposed in President Barack Obama's 2016 fiscal budget.

The next step for the Hamilton City Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project funding is a full Senate vote later this summer.

Combined with the monies appropriated in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, the Army Corps of Engineers will have more than $27 million for construction, reported Reclamation District 2140, the non-federal sponsor of the Hamilton City Project.

Construction of the southern half of the project to reconstruct the 100-year-old aged and dilapidated levee, which marginally protects Hamilton City from flooding when the Sacramento River surges its banks, is expected to begin this summer.

The original J Levee was built in 1904 by the Holly Sugar Company to protect farmland against a 10-year flood.

The district attributes the funding to the continuing leadership and bipartisan support of U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Fairfield, U.S. Reg. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale and Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif.
LaMalfa gives much of the credit for the project's progress to the residents of Hamilton City and the citizens action group.

For more than 30 years, the small town's residents have been working to raise funds for project's 6.8-mile setback levee.

Grigsby-Puente said history tells us that the state's drought will end, and it will probably end with a bang, making it imperative that the project be completed as quickly as possible to avoid a catastrophic levee failure in Hamilton City.

According to the Army Corps' current plan, the southern half of the project will be constructed first, with the northern half to start in 2016. Construction in this fashion will minimize the risk to the town from any flooding event which may occur before construction is finished.

Assuming appropriate levels of future funding are made available, major construction should be finished by 2018.

The Hamilton City Project is a multipurpose flood damage reduction and ecosystem restoration project. Its phases include construction of 6.8 miles of setback levee to provide a more reliable form of flood protection to the community and agricultural areas, degradation of the existing J levee, and reconnection of approximately 1,400 acres of native habitat to the Sacramento River floodplain.

Once constructed, the new levee will provide Hamilton City with protection against a 75-year flood event, a dramatic improvement over the level of protection afforded by the existing J Levee.

Of the $72.9 million estimated cost for the construction project, it is reported $47.4 million would come from federal funding, and $25.5 million from state and local funding.

To offset Hamilton City's share of the costs, a deal was developed through The Nature Conservancy to donate land along the river for habitat restoration.

In addition, Reclamation District 2140 was awarded a grant of up to $5 million from the state, which in combination with other sources should be sufficient to cover the complete non-federal share of costs.
LaMalfa said he feels confident the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can take a "big bite out of the project" with the current funding.

"And when we can show those results to the administration that appropriated the funding, I'm sure future funding will be appropriated based on the merits of the project," he said.

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