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"content": "\u003cp>More than six months after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026682/how-we-rebuild-la-recovers-from-wildfire\">Eaton and Palisades wildfires\u003c/a> razed nearly 13,000 homes and apartments near Los Angeles, property owners are beginning the arduous process of rebuilding. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047275/6-months-after-januarys-fires-recovery-is-just-beginning-for-many\">As they do\u003c/a>, state Senator Aisha Wahab wants to make sure renters aren’t left out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the January fires swept in, tenants in many of the apartment buildings had certain protections, including rent control and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12005034/this-bay-area-county-approved-sweeping-protections-for-disaster-affected-tenants\">limitations\u003c/a> on when a landlord could evict them. But, under existing law, the apartments will lose those protections once rebuilt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state legislature is not doing enough to focus on the issues that renters face,” the Fremont Democrat said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wahab’s bill, SB 522, aims to close a loophole in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034212/california-lawmakers-push-lower-rent-cap-expand-protections-property-owners-worried\">Tenant Protection Act\u003c/a> of 2019, which expires in 2030. The law limits annual rent increases and restricts evictions to only “just-cause” cases, including not paying the rent, violating the lease or withdrawing the unit from the rental market. The law applies on a rolling basis to most multifamily properties built more than 15 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 522 would extend those protections to homes destroyed in a wildfire, flood or other natural disaster, rather than waiting another 15 years for the clock to restart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the proposed legislation has been contentious since it was introduced — condemned by rental property owners for going too far and criticized by tenants for not going far enough. The bill is expected to head to the Assembly floor in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021263\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021263\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Buildings are destroyed along Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Property owner interest groups say it sends “the wrong message to a landlord.” Debra Carlton, executive vice president for state government affairs at the California Apartment Association, said any regulation on new development could deter a property owner from entering or returning to the rental market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“State law says that, even in a new construction, you have a 15-year exemption before you fall under regulations such as just cause,” Carlton said. “So this is treating [the rebuilt units] differently, as if they’re not new.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wahab argued there is no concrete evidence that protections in her bill deter developers from rebuilding homes. Researchers from the University of Minnesota \u003ca href=\"https://www.cura.umn.edu/sites/cura.umn.edu/files/2025-03/final_the-good-case-for-_good-cause-v2.pdf\">published a study in March\u003c/a> that examined permitting activity before and after California’s Tenant Protection Act passed into law, among similar state policies in Oregon and New Hampshire. It found that permits for new construction in counties across those states did not decline, controlling for counties in neighboring states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But SB 522 is still shaking off the controversy it brought when it was first introduced.[aside postID=news_12034212 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/024_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-1020x680.jpg']Wahab’s bill previously included language that required rent-controlled units to remain that way, even after getting rebuilt. That version received strong criticism from various apartment associations, realtor groups and building trades, which argued the bill, if passed into law, would make rebuilding too expensive for rental property owners already reeling from losing their homes and dealing with insurance claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Financing of replacement properties becomes extremely difficult if property owners do not have the ability to recover rebuilding costs through market-rate rents,” Dan Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, wrote in an email to KQED. “Property owners will struggle to secure financing, delaying or preventing reconstruction altogether because rental income and cost recovery will be severely limited.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Wahab’s staff, those terms were removed before the bill’s first hearing in April, despite the language still remaining in legislative digests because of a technical error to be corrected in the coming weeks. But Wahab admitted that by omitting rent control from her bill, it made it more politically palatable, especially for her colleagues in the legislature who are landlords themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was largely a way to thread the needle and to provide stability for evictions — for unnecessary evictions when somebody has already faced a crisis of losing their entire home in a fire,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022580\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022580\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25016124878838-scaled-e1737665727227.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Residents embrace in front of a fire-ravaged property after the Palisades Fire swept through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Etienne Laurent/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tenants’ rights groups still largely support the bill — arguing that some protections are better than none — but they’re disappointed it’s now been watered down. Alfred Twu, secretary for the California Democratic Renters Council, said, “SB 522 is weaker without the rent cap.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ideally, said Joey Flegel-Mishlove with East Bay Housing Organizations, just cause eviction protections should be coupled with other policies that support renters, such as rent caps and anti-harassment protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The affordable housing advocacy group endorsed SB 522 when it was first introduced. “Rent stabilization is undermined when landlords can evict tenants without cause and set rents for new tenants at an uncontrolled level. Just Cause protections are undermined when landlords can carry out de facto evictions by raising rents to levels tenants cannot afford, forcing them to move out.”[aside postID=news_11934624 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1244095544-1020x619.jpg']Still, any renter protections that keep people housed, especially after a natural disaster, can provide relief to tenants, he added, “even if we aim to do more in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lisa Geduldig benefited from similar protections when she lost her apartment in San Francisco’s Mission District to a fire in 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 8:30 a.m., she said she heard a crackling sound. She went to her window and saw a little fire in the brush next door. Geduldig and 14 neighbors exited the building, figuring the fire would be put out shortly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We thought we were just going to be displaced for a year,” she said. Instead, it took more than three years to complete reconstruction on the severely damaged building. By then, she said, “There were five of us, I believe, who moved back in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was able to return because her landlord was required to keep it rent-controlled, even after it was rebuilt. Though Geduldig would not have been covered under SB 522, even if it had been in place then, she said the bill would be more effective if it included rent control. If she had to return to her old apartment at a new, market-rate price, she wouldn’t have been able to afford it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t have been able to move back into the building, and I likely wouldn’t have been able to live in San Francisco,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wahab’s bill, SB 522, aims to close a loophole in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034212/california-lawmakers-push-lower-rent-cap-expand-protections-property-owners-worried\">Tenant Protection Act\u003c/a> of 2019, which expires in 2030. The law limits annual rent increases and restricts evictions to only “just-cause” cases, including not paying the rent, violating the lease or withdrawing the unit from the rental market. The law applies on a rolling basis to most multifamily properties built more than 15 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 522 would extend those protections to homes destroyed in a wildfire, flood or other natural disaster, rather than waiting another 15 years for the clock to restart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the proposed legislation has been contentious since it was introduced — condemned by rental property owners for going too far and criticized by tenants for not going far enough. The bill is expected to head to the Assembly floor in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12021263\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12021263\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/240109-CAWindStorm-043-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Buildings are destroyed along Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Property owner interest groups say it sends “the wrong message to a landlord.” Debra Carlton, executive vice president for state government affairs at the California Apartment Association, said any regulation on new development could deter a property owner from entering or returning to the rental market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“State law says that, even in a new construction, you have a 15-year exemption before you fall under regulations such as just cause,” Carlton said. “So this is treating [the rebuilt units] differently, as if they’re not new.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wahab argued there is no concrete evidence that protections in her bill deter developers from rebuilding homes. Researchers from the University of Minnesota \u003ca href=\"https://www.cura.umn.edu/sites/cura.umn.edu/files/2025-03/final_the-good-case-for-_good-cause-v2.pdf\">published a study in March\u003c/a> that examined permitting activity before and after California’s Tenant Protection Act passed into law, among similar state policies in Oregon and New Hampshire. It found that permits for new construction in counties across those states did not decline, controlling for counties in neighboring states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But SB 522 is still shaking off the controversy it brought when it was first introduced.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Wahab’s bill previously included language that required rent-controlled units to remain that way, even after getting rebuilt. That version received strong criticism from various apartment associations, realtor groups and building trades, which argued the bill, if passed into law, would make rebuilding too expensive for rental property owners already reeling from losing their homes and dealing with insurance claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Financing of replacement properties becomes extremely difficult if property owners do not have the ability to recover rebuilding costs through market-rate rents,” Dan Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, wrote in an email to KQED. “Property owners will struggle to secure financing, delaying or preventing reconstruction altogether because rental income and cost recovery will be severely limited.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Wahab’s staff, those terms were removed before the bill’s first hearing in April, despite the language still remaining in legislative digests because of a technical error to be corrected in the coming weeks. But Wahab admitted that by omitting rent control from her bill, it made it more politically palatable, especially for her colleagues in the legislature who are landlords themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was largely a way to thread the needle and to provide stability for evictions — for unnecessary evictions when somebody has already faced a crisis of losing their entire home in a fire,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022580\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022580\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/AP25016124878838-scaled-e1737665727227.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Residents embrace in front of a fire-ravaged property after the Palisades Fire swept through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Etienne Laurent/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tenants’ rights groups still largely support the bill — arguing that some protections are better than none — but they’re disappointed it’s now been watered down. Alfred Twu, secretary for the California Democratic Renters Council, said, “SB 522 is weaker without the rent cap.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ideally, said Joey Flegel-Mishlove with East Bay Housing Organizations, just cause eviction protections should be coupled with other policies that support renters, such as rent caps and anti-harassment protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The affordable housing advocacy group endorsed SB 522 when it was first introduced. “Rent stabilization is undermined when landlords can evict tenants without cause and set rents for new tenants at an uncontrolled level. Just Cause protections are undermined when landlords can carry out de facto evictions by raising rents to levels tenants cannot afford, forcing them to move out.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Still, any renter protections that keep people housed, especially after a natural disaster, can provide relief to tenants, he added, “even if we aim to do more in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lisa Geduldig benefited from similar protections when she lost her apartment in San Francisco’s Mission District to a fire in 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 8:30 a.m., she said she heard a crackling sound. She went to her window and saw a little fire in the brush next door. Geduldig and 14 neighbors exited the building, figuring the fire would be put out shortly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We thought we were just going to be displaced for a year,” she said. Instead, it took more than three years to complete reconstruction on the severely damaged building. By then, she said, “There were five of us, I believe, who moved back in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was able to return because her landlord was required to keep it rent-controlled, even after it was rebuilt. Though Geduldig would not have been covered under SB 522, even if it had been in place then, she said the bill would be more effective if it included rent control. If she had to return to her old apartment at a new, market-rate price, she wouldn’t have been able to afford it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t have been able to move back into the building, and I likely wouldn’t have been able to live in San Francisco,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "As Flood Risk Grows, Suisun City Weighs Annexing California Forever Land",
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"headTitle": "As Flood Risk Grows, Suisun City Weighs Annexing California Forever Land | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Becky Carroll’s earthy yellow ranch-style home faces a vast marshland filled with migratory birds and boaters. She lives in a quaint, waterside neighborhood on the edge of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043295/suisun-city-proposes-annexing-most-of-california-forevers-new-city\">Suisun City\u003c/a>, where streets have names like Dolphin Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though Carroll lives right on the water, she isn’t worried that her property will flood. It hasn’t in the nearly 20 years since she and her husband moved in. And, she has faith in the marsh’s natural ability to soak up the water like a sponge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We feel very safe,” Carroll said. “We have our boat right outside our back door, so it’s perfect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this neighborhood, and a large swath of the marshy city, is located in what climate scientists call one of the Bay Area’s top \u003ca href=\"https://www.greenbelt.org/hotspots/suisun-city/\">sea level rise hot spots\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suisun City, a working-class community on the edge of San Francisco Bay, faces a slow-moving crisis: rising seas could swallow parts of the town within decades. It also faces an imminent budget crisis threatening insolvency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052352\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052352\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-38-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-38-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-38-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-38-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Becky Carroll looks out at the Suisun Slough from her deck in Suisun City, Solano County, on Aug. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Among other solutions, city leaders are eyeing a controversial fix — annexing thousands of inland acres from California Forever, a tech billionaire-backed company — a move that could raise tax revenue and secure higher ground, but risks fierce fights over growth, climate adaptation and the city’s future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, city officials have debated how to prepare for climate change. Suisun City Mayor Alma Hernandez, who grew up in a tan apartment blocks away from the waterfront, said that point hit home a few years back, when she hiked up a hill nearby and saw how the marsh — the \u003ca href=\"https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/suisun-marsh#:~:text=Suisun%20Marsh%20is%20where%20fresh,of%20plants%2C%20fish%20and%20wildlife\">largest brackish wetland\u003c/a> in California — seemed to dwarf her tiny city of about 30,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My city will be affected by flooding, and no one really knows about it,” Hernandez said.[aside postID=news_12043295 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250513-CaliforniaForeverAnnexExplainer-38-BL_qed.jpg']City Hall and restaurants like Bab’s Delta Diner are right on the water. Hernandez is worried that the area — considered the city’s playground — could be inundated in the coming decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She wonders whether the annexation deal with California Forever could help solve both the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044266/suisun-city-could-grow-by-9-times-its-current-size\">budget deficit threatening the city’s stability\u003c/a> and climate-induced flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company, which did not respond to KQED’s request for comment, is proposing to build a mega-development with tens of thousands of homes several miles inland. Unlike Suisun City, the land where California Forever wants to build does not face risks from rising seas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we didn’t have the annexation opportunity, we would know that we would be a shrinking city over time,” Hernandez said. “And we would have nowhere else to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Annexation of California Forever’s land could present at least two sea level rise solutions: tax revenue from future residents could help pay for potentially expensive adaptation efforts, or the project could provide housing for displaced residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052433\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052433\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/SUISUN-SEALEVEL-RISE-KQED.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue indicates inundation. Models used in the state’s latest sea level rise guidance show a range of flooding scenarios. \u003ccite>(Animation by Darren Tu/KQED. Data from Our Coast, Our Future, USGS and Pacific Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But climate experts argue that annexation isn’t a guaranteed fix for the city’s climate issues. Mark Lubell, a professor of environmental science and policy at UC Davis, said that while the opportunity sounds “juicy,” the development might cost too much, it may not set aside homes for displaced residents and the city might not choose to spend the tax revenue on protecting flood-prone areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think there’s any way in which you could ever consider California Forever as a solution to Suisun City’s climate risk, either in terms of revenue generation or as a place that could be an escape hatch for climate migration,” Lubell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, California Forever released a \u003ca href=\"https://www.thereporter.com/2024/07/19/solano-releases-california-forever-report/\">report\u003c/a>, claiming its project would generate billions of dollars in revenue for the county. Days later, county staff released their \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/SolanoCountyReport.pdf\">own study\u003c/a>, which showed the project would cost more than it would generate.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Suisun City is a sea level rise hot spot\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Suisun City has a long history of flooding dating back to \u003ca href=\"https://www.solanoarticles.com/history/index.php/weblog3/more/floods_of_1880s_washed_over_solano/#:~:text=On%20that%20note%2C%20the%20storm,quite%20a%20few%20winter%20battles\">the 1800s\u003c/a>. During winter months, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12018103/king-tides-foreshadow-far-wetter-future-sf-shoreline\">king tides\u003c/a> — caused by a stronger-than-normal gravitational pull when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1955598/king-tides-are-here-why-they-happen-and-what-they-teach-us\">sun, moon and Earth align\u003c/a> — can cause the marsh to spill into the city, flooding sidewalks and roadways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those stronger tides foreshadow a far wetter future as human-caused climate change drives sea level rise. Since the 1880s, oceans have risen globally by about \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level\">eight inches\u003c/a> on average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052349\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052349\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-21-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Alma Hernandez walks along a path used for Flood Walks near the Suisun Slough in Suisun City on Aug. 4, 2025. The guided walks educate residents about local flood risks, climate resilience and the city’s natural waterways. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>State regulators have mandated that every coastal city and county develop \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1984830/california-mandates-coastal-cities-plan-for-future-sea-level-rise\">vulnerability assessments\u003c/a> of what’s at risk and lay out potential solutions, telling places like Suisun City to expect nearly a foot of sea level rise by 2050, in a “\u003ca href=\"https://opc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/California-Sea-Level-Rise-Guidance-2024-508.pdf\">most likely\u003c/a>” scenario, and up to 6.6 feet in a worst-case scenario by the end of the century. Coastal communities also have to contend with storm surges and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997954/lawmakers-push-to-map-groundwater-before-it-swamps-americas-infrastructure\">shallow groundwater rise\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaclyn Perrin-Martinez, climate adaptation planning manager with the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, said the state agency’s maps show that with two feet of sea level rise, there will be “significant overtopping” and flooding in Suisun City, which could happen by 2050.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would put much of the area south of Highway 12 under water, flooding a middle school, City Hall, downtown businesses and a rail line, impacting “some of the most vulnerable members of the community,” Hernandez said.[aside postID=science_1996746 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/03/RS48091_GettyImages-507138914-qut-1020x686.jpg']Local leaders have begun to plan for sea level rise. They’re working on a \u003ca href=\"https://www.fairfieldsuisunsewer.ca.gov/public-outreach/solano-bayshore-resiliency-roundtable/#1685576399759-dd121c72-a336\">regional adaptation plan\u003c/a> with potential solutions from Vallejo to Suisun City. The Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District leads it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already, king tides push brackish water into a sewage treatment plant, minorly disrupting its operations. “The problems that we begin to see at king tides would be likely more frequent and likely more severe,” said Jordan Damerel, the local agency’s general manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damerel said the group could complete the assessment as soon as next year, and a list of potential solutions could come in 2027. Even with Suisun City’s marshland absorbing water, rising seas could someday drown large parts of the wetland and flow into the city. Local leaders said solutions could range from sea walls to levees to pumps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damerel wants an “everyone wins scenario” where communities, businesses and sewer infrastructure are safe from floodwaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that plan is separate from discussions around annexation. Officials from the sewer district said the vulnerability assessment would only consider Suisun City’s existing boundaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The complicated process of moving inland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even in public discussions around the potential annexation, Suisun City officials rarely talk about flood risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a \u003ca href=\"https://media.avcaptureall.cloud/meeting/b98f7eea-cb47-42be-a06b-f85281aa6d5a\">public meeting\u003c/a> in January, City Manager Bret Prebula, wearing a bright blue suit, briefly mentioned sea level rise in his plan to fix budget issues. He argued annexation could help the city become an attractive candidate for federal funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052353\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052353\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-44-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-44-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-44-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-44-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An aerial view of the Suisun Slough in Suisun City, Solano County, on Aug. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If we do not create an area in both downtown and expansion that is worth saving, it is going to be a difficult conversation years down the line with the federal government,” Prebula said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He then pointed to an even bleaker possibility: adaptation efforts might not work, and the city may not be able to stop flooding, meaning some residents and businesses may have to relocate inward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lubell, the UC Davis researcher, said that in the future, there may “have to be some retreat there given the extent of the flooding.”[aside postID=science_1984643 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/10/03242023_kqed_pajaroreturning-1305-qut-1020x678.jpg']The strategy, called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1984643/reluctant-retreat-one-familys-fight-against-climate-induced-flooding\">managed retreat\u003c/a>,” is often regarded as a last resort for cities imminently facing sea level rise. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1945874/when-it-comes-to-wildfire-solutions-relocating-communities-is-a-tough-sell\">complicated process\u003c/a> involves residents leaving their homes, often receiving government compensation for their property and moving to higher ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Charisma Acey, an associate professor of city and regional planning at UC Berkeley, is not opposed to the strategy, she said it is often politically charged and can be “a dirty word,” especially in a country with strong property rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If people don’t see the water rising right now, they’re thinking the government is just trying to take land below fair market value,” Acey said. “And take their communities away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Acey added, when communities discuss how to adapt to climate change, often the most vulnerable residents are left out because participation requires time and effort, a scarce resource for people working multiple jobs or commuting long distances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If managed retreat is seriously considered, Acey said city officials will have to regard solutions equitably, for homeowners and renters alike. According to data from the \u003ca href=\"https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2023.S1101?q=Suisun+City+city,+California&t=Housing\">2023 American Community Survey\u003c/a>, nearly 40% of Suisun City residents rent their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘We absolutely need to look for higher ground’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Involving California Forever in talks about solutions could further complicate the debate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez admitted that sea level rise had not been a central issue in discussions with the company because the city’s budget crisis is “taking priority,” and the threat of insolvency is more immediate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she added, while she has the company’s attention, it’s time to address the risk of flooding as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052347\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052347\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-13-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Alma Hernandez sits in her office at Suisun City Hall in Suisun City, Solano County, on Aug. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many residents and advocacy groups, however, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996536/farmers-are-divided-over-california-forevers-plan-in-solano-county\">do not trust\u003c/a> California Forever to work in their best interests, partly because of its rocky history of \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/business/land-purchases-solano-county.html\">quietly acquiring land\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11970694/california-forever-lawsuit-looms-as-solano-county-farmers-fight-back\">suing farmers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985195/billionaire-backed-bid-for-new-solano-county-city-will-likely-be-on-the-ballot\">pushing\u003c/a> — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12001435/california-forever-pulls-ballot-measure-to-build-new-city-in-solano-county-for-now\">and then pulling\u003c/a> — a ballot initiative last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents, including Carroll, still have questions about how the project would affect the county’s existing infrastructure and are concerned that newcomers would further crowd Highway 12, which Carroll said is already “a disaster” to drive on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And she questions whether it would ever be necessary to leave her dockside home — even if seas rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even with a tsunami coming through,” Carroll doesn’t believe her property could flood because San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta would take the brunt of high water. It would then have to go through the marsh before reaching her backyard dock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nate Huntington, a resilience manager with the environmental advocacy group Greenbelt Alliance, said the way Suisun City chooses to adapt to sea level rise should center on what residents want for their future. His organization is part of the local community coalition, Solano Together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052356\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052356\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-58-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-58-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-58-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-58-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nate Huntington, a member of the Solano Together coalition, sits in Suisun City, Solano County, on Aug. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It shouldn’t be a decision that’s dictated by a development group that doesn’t have the land zoned how they want it right now,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez argued that with annexation, the city actually holds the power. Earlier this summer, she and other officials signed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043295/suisun-city-proposes-annexing-most-of-california-forevers-new-city\">an agreement\u003c/a> that allows them to exit negotiations, no strings attached. If the annexation deal is approved, she said Suisun City will have the ultimate say in what gets built, not the developer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is eager to look for other solutions, but with annexation on the table, retreat could be worth exploring too — even if it’s a last resort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really hard to hear the same individuals tell us that our downtown will be flooded in 50 years [and] also tell us, ‘But don’t look for higher ground,’” Hernandez said. “We absolutely need to look for higher ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Suisun City, one of the Bay Area’s fastest-rising sea level hot spots, is weighing whether to annex a massive inland parcel from the California Forever project to boost its tax base — and potentially protect residents from climate change.",
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"title": "As Flood Risk Grows, Suisun City Weighs Annexing California Forever Land | KQED",
"description": "Suisun City, one of the Bay Area’s fastest-rising sea level hot spots, is weighing whether to annex a massive inland parcel from the California Forever project to boost its tax base — and potentially protect residents from climate change.",
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"headline": "As Flood Risk Grows, Suisun City Weighs Annexing California Forever Land",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Becky Carroll’s earthy yellow ranch-style home faces a vast marshland filled with migratory birds and boaters. She lives in a quaint, waterside neighborhood on the edge of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043295/suisun-city-proposes-annexing-most-of-california-forevers-new-city\">Suisun City\u003c/a>, where streets have names like Dolphin Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though Carroll lives right on the water, she isn’t worried that her property will flood. It hasn’t in the nearly 20 years since she and her husband moved in. And, she has faith in the marsh’s natural ability to soak up the water like a sponge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We feel very safe,” Carroll said. “We have our boat right outside our back door, so it’s perfect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this neighborhood, and a large swath of the marshy city, is located in what climate scientists call one of the Bay Area’s top \u003ca href=\"https://www.greenbelt.org/hotspots/suisun-city/\">sea level rise hot spots\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suisun City, a working-class community on the edge of San Francisco Bay, faces a slow-moving crisis: rising seas could swallow parts of the town within decades. It also faces an imminent budget crisis threatening insolvency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052352\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052352\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-38-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-38-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-38-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-38-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Becky Carroll looks out at the Suisun Slough from her deck in Suisun City, Solano County, on Aug. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Among other solutions, city leaders are eyeing a controversial fix — annexing thousands of inland acres from California Forever, a tech billionaire-backed company — a move that could raise tax revenue and secure higher ground, but risks fierce fights over growth, climate adaptation and the city’s future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, city officials have debated how to prepare for climate change. Suisun City Mayor Alma Hernandez, who grew up in a tan apartment blocks away from the waterfront, said that point hit home a few years back, when she hiked up a hill nearby and saw how the marsh — the \u003ca href=\"https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/suisun-marsh#:~:text=Suisun%20Marsh%20is%20where%20fresh,of%20plants%2C%20fish%20and%20wildlife\">largest brackish wetland\u003c/a> in California — seemed to dwarf her tiny city of about 30,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My city will be affected by flooding, and no one really knows about it,” Hernandez said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>City Hall and restaurants like Bab’s Delta Diner are right on the water. Hernandez is worried that the area — considered the city’s playground — could be inundated in the coming decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She wonders whether the annexation deal with California Forever could help solve both the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044266/suisun-city-could-grow-by-9-times-its-current-size\">budget deficit threatening the city’s stability\u003c/a> and climate-induced flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company, which did not respond to KQED’s request for comment, is proposing to build a mega-development with tens of thousands of homes several miles inland. Unlike Suisun City, the land where California Forever wants to build does not face risks from rising seas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we didn’t have the annexation opportunity, we would know that we would be a shrinking city over time,” Hernandez said. “And we would have nowhere else to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Annexation of California Forever’s land could present at least two sea level rise solutions: tax revenue from future residents could help pay for potentially expensive adaptation efforts, or the project could provide housing for displaced residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052433\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052433\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/SUISUN-SEALEVEL-RISE-KQED.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue indicates inundation. Models used in the state’s latest sea level rise guidance show a range of flooding scenarios. \u003ccite>(Animation by Darren Tu/KQED. Data from Our Coast, Our Future, USGS and Pacific Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But climate experts argue that annexation isn’t a guaranteed fix for the city’s climate issues. Mark Lubell, a professor of environmental science and policy at UC Davis, said that while the opportunity sounds “juicy,” the development might cost too much, it may not set aside homes for displaced residents and the city might not choose to spend the tax revenue on protecting flood-prone areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think there’s any way in which you could ever consider California Forever as a solution to Suisun City’s climate risk, either in terms of revenue generation or as a place that could be an escape hatch for climate migration,” Lubell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, California Forever released a \u003ca href=\"https://www.thereporter.com/2024/07/19/solano-releases-california-forever-report/\">report\u003c/a>, claiming its project would generate billions of dollars in revenue for the county. Days later, county staff released their \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/SolanoCountyReport.pdf\">own study\u003c/a>, which showed the project would cost more than it would generate.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Suisun City is a sea level rise hot spot\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Suisun City has a long history of flooding dating back to \u003ca href=\"https://www.solanoarticles.com/history/index.php/weblog3/more/floods_of_1880s_washed_over_solano/#:~:text=On%20that%20note%2C%20the%20storm,quite%20a%20few%20winter%20battles\">the 1800s\u003c/a>. During winter months, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12018103/king-tides-foreshadow-far-wetter-future-sf-shoreline\">king tides\u003c/a> — caused by a stronger-than-normal gravitational pull when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1955598/king-tides-are-here-why-they-happen-and-what-they-teach-us\">sun, moon and Earth align\u003c/a> — can cause the marsh to spill into the city, flooding sidewalks and roadways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those stronger tides foreshadow a far wetter future as human-caused climate change drives sea level rise. Since the 1880s, oceans have risen globally by about \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level\">eight inches\u003c/a> on average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052349\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052349\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-21-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Alma Hernandez walks along a path used for Flood Walks near the Suisun Slough in Suisun City on Aug. 4, 2025. The guided walks educate residents about local flood risks, climate resilience and the city’s natural waterways. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>State regulators have mandated that every coastal city and county develop \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1984830/california-mandates-coastal-cities-plan-for-future-sea-level-rise\">vulnerability assessments\u003c/a> of what’s at risk and lay out potential solutions, telling places like Suisun City to expect nearly a foot of sea level rise by 2050, in a “\u003ca href=\"https://opc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/California-Sea-Level-Rise-Guidance-2024-508.pdf\">most likely\u003c/a>” scenario, and up to 6.6 feet in a worst-case scenario by the end of the century. Coastal communities also have to contend with storm surges and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997954/lawmakers-push-to-map-groundwater-before-it-swamps-americas-infrastructure\">shallow groundwater rise\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaclyn Perrin-Martinez, climate adaptation planning manager with the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, said the state agency’s maps show that with two feet of sea level rise, there will be “significant overtopping” and flooding in Suisun City, which could happen by 2050.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would put much of the area south of Highway 12 under water, flooding a middle school, City Hall, downtown businesses and a rail line, impacting “some of the most vulnerable members of the community,” Hernandez said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Local leaders have begun to plan for sea level rise. They’re working on a \u003ca href=\"https://www.fairfieldsuisunsewer.ca.gov/public-outreach/solano-bayshore-resiliency-roundtable/#1685576399759-dd121c72-a336\">regional adaptation plan\u003c/a> with potential solutions from Vallejo to Suisun City. The Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District leads it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already, king tides push brackish water into a sewage treatment plant, minorly disrupting its operations. “The problems that we begin to see at king tides would be likely more frequent and likely more severe,” said Jordan Damerel, the local agency’s general manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damerel said the group could complete the assessment as soon as next year, and a list of potential solutions could come in 2027. Even with Suisun City’s marshland absorbing water, rising seas could someday drown large parts of the wetland and flow into the city. Local leaders said solutions could range from sea walls to levees to pumps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damerel wants an “everyone wins scenario” where communities, businesses and sewer infrastructure are safe from floodwaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that plan is separate from discussions around annexation. Officials from the sewer district said the vulnerability assessment would only consider Suisun City’s existing boundaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The complicated process of moving inland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even in public discussions around the potential annexation, Suisun City officials rarely talk about flood risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a \u003ca href=\"https://media.avcaptureall.cloud/meeting/b98f7eea-cb47-42be-a06b-f85281aa6d5a\">public meeting\u003c/a> in January, City Manager Bret Prebula, wearing a bright blue suit, briefly mentioned sea level rise in his plan to fix budget issues. He argued annexation could help the city become an attractive candidate for federal funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052353\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052353\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-44-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-44-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-44-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-44-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An aerial view of the Suisun Slough in Suisun City, Solano County, on Aug. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If we do not create an area in both downtown and expansion that is worth saving, it is going to be a difficult conversation years down the line with the federal government,” Prebula said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He then pointed to an even bleaker possibility: adaptation efforts might not work, and the city may not be able to stop flooding, meaning some residents and businesses may have to relocate inward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lubell, the UC Davis researcher, said that in the future, there may “have to be some retreat there given the extent of the flooding.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The strategy, called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1984643/reluctant-retreat-one-familys-fight-against-climate-induced-flooding\">managed retreat\u003c/a>,” is often regarded as a last resort for cities imminently facing sea level rise. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1945874/when-it-comes-to-wildfire-solutions-relocating-communities-is-a-tough-sell\">complicated process\u003c/a> involves residents leaving their homes, often receiving government compensation for their property and moving to higher ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Charisma Acey, an associate professor of city and regional planning at UC Berkeley, is not opposed to the strategy, she said it is often politically charged and can be “a dirty word,” especially in a country with strong property rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If people don’t see the water rising right now, they’re thinking the government is just trying to take land below fair market value,” Acey said. “And take their communities away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Acey added, when communities discuss how to adapt to climate change, often the most vulnerable residents are left out because participation requires time and effort, a scarce resource for people working multiple jobs or commuting long distances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If managed retreat is seriously considered, Acey said city officials will have to regard solutions equitably, for homeowners and renters alike. According to data from the \u003ca href=\"https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2023.S1101?q=Suisun+City+city,+California&t=Housing\">2023 American Community Survey\u003c/a>, nearly 40% of Suisun City residents rent their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘We absolutely need to look for higher ground’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Involving California Forever in talks about solutions could further complicate the debate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez admitted that sea level rise had not been a central issue in discussions with the company because the city’s budget crisis is “taking priority,” and the threat of insolvency is more immediate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she added, while she has the company’s attention, it’s time to address the risk of flooding as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052347\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052347\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-13-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Alma Hernandez sits in her office at Suisun City Hall in Suisun City, Solano County, on Aug. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many residents and advocacy groups, however, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996536/farmers-are-divided-over-california-forevers-plan-in-solano-county\">do not trust\u003c/a> California Forever to work in their best interests, partly because of its rocky history of \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/business/land-purchases-solano-county.html\">quietly acquiring land\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11970694/california-forever-lawsuit-looms-as-solano-county-farmers-fight-back\">suing farmers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985195/billionaire-backed-bid-for-new-solano-county-city-will-likely-be-on-the-ballot\">pushing\u003c/a> — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12001435/california-forever-pulls-ballot-measure-to-build-new-city-in-solano-county-for-now\">and then pulling\u003c/a> — a ballot initiative last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents, including Carroll, still have questions about how the project would affect the county’s existing infrastructure and are concerned that newcomers would further crowd Highway 12, which Carroll said is already “a disaster” to drive on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And she questions whether it would ever be necessary to leave her dockside home — even if seas rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even with a tsunami coming through,” Carroll doesn’t believe her property could flood because San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta would take the brunt of high water. It would then have to go through the marsh before reaching her backyard dock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nate Huntington, a resilience manager with the environmental advocacy group Greenbelt Alliance, said the way Suisun City chooses to adapt to sea level rise should center on what residents want for their future. His organization is part of the local community coalition, Solano Together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052356\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052356\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-58-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-58-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-58-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-58-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nate Huntington, a member of the Solano Together coalition, sits in Suisun City, Solano County, on Aug. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It shouldn’t be a decision that’s dictated by a development group that doesn’t have the land zoned how they want it right now,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez argued that with annexation, the city actually holds the power. Earlier this summer, she and other officials signed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043295/suisun-city-proposes-annexing-most-of-california-forevers-new-city\">an agreement\u003c/a> that allows them to exit negotiations, no strings attached. If the annexation deal is approved, she said Suisun City will have the ultimate say in what gets built, not the developer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is eager to look for other solutions, but with annexation on the table, retreat could be worth exploring too — even if it’s a last resort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really hard to hear the same individuals tell us that our downtown will be flooded in 50 years [and] also tell us, ‘But don’t look for higher ground,’” Hernandez said. “We absolutely need to look for higher ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The deaths of at least 27 children and staff at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas have some parents and guardians questioning the safety of summer camps, especially as global warming increases risks of extreme weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of summer camp’s allure is that children are outside in nature. But that can also raise the possibility of heat illness and risks from greater proximity to wildfire or flood-prone areas, says Tracey Gaslin, chief executive of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://allianceforcamphealth.org/\">\u003cu>Alliance for Camp Health\u003c/u>\u003c/a> in Kentucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside of regulations that apply to all businesses, there are no federal standards that are specific to camps, says Henry DeHart, interim chief executive of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.acacamps.org/\">\u003cu>American Camp Association\u003c/u>\u003c/a> (ACA). The ACA has a national accreditation program that includes some health and safety standards, but it’s voluntary and only about 12% of the country’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.acacamps.org/resources/national-economic-impact-study-camp-industry\">\u003cu>roughly 20,000\u003c/u>\u003c/a> camps have participated, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the state level, DeHart says some state agencies conduct camp health and safety inspections. But oversight and protections vary considerably from state to state, and some states have very little regulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of states that have very little or no regulation related to camp,” DeHart says. “The regulatory framework is wide and varied and, in some places, it’s not very robust.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of the gaps in the current regulatory framework, some experts on climate-related risks say parents and guardians should ask more detailed questions about campers’ safety. Chad Berginnis, the executive director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.floods.org/about/staff/\">\u003cu>Association of State Floodplain Managers\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, dropped off his 8-year-old daughter at Girl Scout Camp earlier this month, and realized he, too, had many more questions about his daughter’s camp’s flood precautions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even as a floodplain manager,” he says, “I don’t think I even had appreciation for what, as a parent, I should be thinking about when sending kids to camp.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Berginnis has a list of points to cover. For parents or guardians sending children to any kind of camp, here are the top questions experts say you should be asking about increased risks of heat, wildfires and floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048822\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048822\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1350\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-10.jpg 1800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-10-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-10-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Camps can be great for kids, but can also expose them to heat. Children and teenagers’ developing bodies aren’t as good at regulating their body temperatures as adult bodies. \u003ccite>(Serhii Bezrukyi/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2 class=\"edTag\">\u003cstrong>What is the camp doing to reduce risk of heat-related illness and death?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This question is important because heat-related illness and death are major and growing risks in the U.S. — and that threat is often underestimated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12045055 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/GettyImages-1450590312-2000x1334.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, children and teenagers’ developing bodies aren’t as good at regulating their body temperatures as adult bodies, says Rupa Basu, senior science advisor for the University of California, San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://climatehealth.ucsf.edu/\">\u003cu>Center for Climate Health and Equity\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. That makes them more at risk for heat illness, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that people don’t even think of children often as being high risk populations,” Basu says. “ But they absolutely are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For these reasons, Gaslin at the Alliance for Camp Health thinks parents and guardians should be asking camps how they are thinking about heat and hydration. She suggests parents and guardians ask about how the camp’s physical site is designed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do you have things like shade structures? Misting systems?” Gaslin says. “A really solid infrastructure build is important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gaslin also thinks parents and guardians should be asking about how “climate-aware” the campers’ schedules are. That can look like an activity in a cool location, then an activity outside in a warmer location, then back into the cool, she says. Also it’s important to ask about how frequently counselors are reminding campers to hydrate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really about giving conscious thought to how do we manage that impact of heat,” she says. “If we’re gonna be outdoors, guess what? Water activities are a great thing to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048823\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048823\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1201\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-11.jpg 1800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-11-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-11-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chad Berginnis, the executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, thinks parents and guardians need to know if their kids’ camp is in a floodplain, and what the camp is doing about it. \u003ccite>(Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>What is the camp doing to reduce risks from flooding?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This question is key because many camps are located in flood-prone areas, Berginnis says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says — in many ways — that’s understandable. “To me, it makes logical sense that you’d have a lot of camps there because it has really interesting habitats. It has interesting animals and geology and everything, and kids can learn a lot there,” Berginnis says.[aside postID=news_11834305 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/08/RS44514_GettyImages-1261921915-qut.jpg']But he thinks parents and guardians need to know if their kids’ camp is in a floodplain, and what the camp is doing about it. Berginnis says adults can look up risks on this \u003ca href=\"https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home\">\u003cu>FEMA website\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. Parents and guardians can also plug in \u003ca href=\"https://firststreet.org/\">\u003cu>addresses to this database from First Street\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, a climate risk modeling company. If it’s a sleep-away camp, Berginnis says it’s important to ask where the kids’ sleeping quarters are located.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it’s an overnight camp, any kind of residential lodging overnight for the kids, if it’s in a floodway, that should be a huge red flag right there,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he says parents and guardians should ask camps about things like flood sirens and specifics of emergency action plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would be very blunt with a campground: I wanna know the procedure. If a flash flood warning is declared for the area, what does the camp do? What do the counselors do? So that they can talk it through with you,” he says in an email. “Do not be satisfied with a generic answer like ‘we have an emergency action plan’. Ask them about specific actions like is there anyone monitoring the weather at night? What are the designated evacuation areas? And if they cannot talk that through with you, again, I would say, that’s another red flag.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048824\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048824\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1213\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-12.jpg 1800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-12-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-12-1536x1035.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tracey Gaslin at the Alliance for Camp Health says parents and guardians should make sure that all camp emergency action plans are regularly updated and reviewed by local emergency partners, including emergency medical staff. \u003ccite>(Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>What is the camp doing to reduce risks of wildfires and wildfire smoke?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As with flood risks, parents and guardians should be asking about emergency action plans and preparedness for wildfire and smoke, Gaslin says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Parents can ask camps, do they monitor air quality?” she says, “What’s their evacuation plan? How are they gonna communicate with families? So families are gonna be able to say, in a moment of crisis, I wanna be able to communicate with you in some way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gaslin says it’s important to make sure that all camp emergency action plans are regularly updated and reviewed by local emergency partners, including emergency medical staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gaslin says parents and guardians should make sure there are always staff monitoring the weather, and at sleepaway camps there should be a solid communication system so at night, individuals are alerted to environmental changes or concerns. That means at least some staff with cell phones and radios at all hours, to monitor for wildfire risk, flash floods, or any other hazards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The deaths of at least 27 children and staff at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas have some parents and guardians questioning the safety of summer camps, especially as global warming increases risks of extreme weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of summer camp’s allure is that children are outside in nature. But that can also raise the possibility of heat illness and risks from greater proximity to wildfire or flood-prone areas, says Tracey Gaslin, chief executive of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://allianceforcamphealth.org/\">\u003cu>Alliance for Camp Health\u003c/u>\u003c/a> in Kentucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside of regulations that apply to all businesses, there are no federal standards that are specific to camps, says Henry DeHart, interim chief executive of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.acacamps.org/\">\u003cu>American Camp Association\u003c/u>\u003c/a> (ACA). The ACA has a national accreditation program that includes some health and safety standards, but it’s voluntary and only about 12% of the country’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.acacamps.org/resources/national-economic-impact-study-camp-industry\">\u003cu>roughly 20,000\u003c/u>\u003c/a> camps have participated, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the state level, DeHart says some state agencies conduct camp health and safety inspections. But oversight and protections vary considerably from state to state, and some states have very little regulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of states that have very little or no regulation related to camp,” DeHart says. “The regulatory framework is wide and varied and, in some places, it’s not very robust.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of the gaps in the current regulatory framework, some experts on climate-related risks say parents and guardians should ask more detailed questions about campers’ safety. Chad Berginnis, the executive director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.floods.org/about/staff/\">\u003cu>Association of State Floodplain Managers\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, dropped off his 8-year-old daughter at Girl Scout Camp earlier this month, and realized he, too, had many more questions about his daughter’s camp’s flood precautions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even as a floodplain manager,” he says, “I don’t think I even had appreciation for what, as a parent, I should be thinking about when sending kids to camp.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Berginnis has a list of points to cover. For parents or guardians sending children to any kind of camp, here are the top questions experts say you should be asking about increased risks of heat, wildfires and floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048822\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048822\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1350\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-10.jpg 1800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-10-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-10-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Camps can be great for kids, but can also expose them to heat. Children and teenagers’ developing bodies aren’t as good at regulating their body temperatures as adult bodies. \u003ccite>(Serhii Bezrukyi/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2 class=\"edTag\">\u003cstrong>What is the camp doing to reduce risk of heat-related illness and death?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This question is important because heat-related illness and death are major and growing risks in the U.S. — and that threat is often underestimated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, children and teenagers’ developing bodies aren’t as good at regulating their body temperatures as adult bodies, says Rupa Basu, senior science advisor for the University of California, San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://climatehealth.ucsf.edu/\">\u003cu>Center for Climate Health and Equity\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. That makes them more at risk for heat illness, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that people don’t even think of children often as being high risk populations,” Basu says. “ But they absolutely are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For these reasons, Gaslin at the Alliance for Camp Health thinks parents and guardians should be asking camps how they are thinking about heat and hydration. She suggests parents and guardians ask about how the camp’s physical site is designed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do you have things like shade structures? Misting systems?” Gaslin says. “A really solid infrastructure build is important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gaslin also thinks parents and guardians should be asking about how “climate-aware” the campers’ schedules are. That can look like an activity in a cool location, then an activity outside in a warmer location, then back into the cool, she says. Also it’s important to ask about how frequently counselors are reminding campers to hydrate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really about giving conscious thought to how do we manage that impact of heat,” she says. “If we’re gonna be outdoors, guess what? Water activities are a great thing to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048823\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048823\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1201\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-11.jpg 1800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-11-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-11-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chad Berginnis, the executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, thinks parents and guardians need to know if their kids’ camp is in a floodplain, and what the camp is doing about it. \u003ccite>(Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>What is the camp doing to reduce risks from flooding?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This question is key because many camps are located in flood-prone areas, Berginnis says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says — in many ways — that’s understandable. “To me, it makes logical sense that you’d have a lot of camps there because it has really interesting habitats. It has interesting animals and geology and everything, and kids can learn a lot there,” Berginnis says.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But he thinks parents and guardians need to know if their kids’ camp is in a floodplain, and what the camp is doing about it. Berginnis says adults can look up risks on this \u003ca href=\"https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home\">\u003cu>FEMA website\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. Parents and guardians can also plug in \u003ca href=\"https://firststreet.org/\">\u003cu>addresses to this database from First Street\u003c/u>\u003c/a>, a climate risk modeling company. If it’s a sleep-away camp, Berginnis says it’s important to ask where the kids’ sleeping quarters are located.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it’s an overnight camp, any kind of residential lodging overnight for the kids, if it’s in a floodway, that should be a huge red flag right there,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he says parents and guardians should ask camps about things like flood sirens and specifics of emergency action plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would be very blunt with a campground: I wanna know the procedure. If a flash flood warning is declared for the area, what does the camp do? What do the counselors do? So that they can talk it through with you,” he says in an email. “Do not be satisfied with a generic answer like ‘we have an emergency action plan’. Ask them about specific actions like is there anyone monitoring the weather at night? What are the designated evacuation areas? And if they cannot talk that through with you, again, I would say, that’s another red flag.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048824\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048824\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1213\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-12.jpg 1800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-12-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-12-1536x1035.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tracey Gaslin at the Alliance for Camp Health says parents and guardians should make sure that all camp emergency action plans are regularly updated and reviewed by local emergency partners, including emergency medical staff. \u003ccite>(Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>What is the camp doing to reduce risks of wildfires and wildfire smoke?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As with flood risks, parents and guardians should be asking about emergency action plans and preparedness for wildfire and smoke, Gaslin says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Parents can ask camps, do they monitor air quality?” she says, “What’s their evacuation plan? How are they gonna communicate with families? So families are gonna be able to say, in a moment of crisis, I wanna be able to communicate with you in some way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gaslin says it’s important to make sure that all camp emergency action plans are regularly updated and reviewed by local emergency partners, including emergency medical staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gaslin says parents and guardians should make sure there are always staff monitoring the weather, and at sleepaway camps there should be a solid communication system so at night, individuals are alerted to environmental changes or concerns. That means at least some staff with cell phones and radios at all hours, to monitor for wildfire risk, flash floods, or any other hazards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "floods-exposed-weaknesses-in-california-prisons-emergency-plans-they-still-arent-ready",
"title": "Floods Exposed Weaknesses in California Prisons’ Emergency Plans. They Still Aren’t Ready",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023, amid record-breaking rain and snow, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/tag/prisons/\">two prisons\u003c/a> in the southern San Joaquin Valley faced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-04-26/newsom-visits-flood-threatened-corcoran\">serious risk of flooding\u003c/a>. But neither prison, California State Prison, Corcoran or the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility, had a robust evacuation plan on hand and ready for the looming disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, the prisons developed a joint plan to transfer roughly 8,000 incarcerated people to other state prisons within 11 to 14 days — or longer. Wheelchair-bound individuals, the plan stated, would take six days to evacuate. And department buses intended to shuttle people to safety could take up to a day to arrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The floods that year ultimately did not reach the prisons, but the threat they posed illustrated how California’s 90,000-prisoner corrections system has failed to prepare for natural disasters. That’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.oig.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Audit-of-the-California-Department-of-Corrections-and-Rehabilitations-Natural-Disaster-Emergency-Preparedness-and-Mitigation-Efforts.pdf\">according to a report issued last week\u003c/a> by an independent agency that oversees the department’s disciplinary process and internal investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While California’s prisons are vulnerable to wildfires, floods, and earthquakes, we found they are not adequately prepared to respond to emergencies posed by natural disasters,” stated the report by the Office of Inspector General, which reviewed emergency plans for 30 state prisons after fielding concerns about the department’s disaster response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report detailed deep fractures in the department’s emergency preparedness, including issues of transportation, varied risk assessment methodologies, lacking mutual aid agreements, timely evacuations, and prison overcrowding. As of December, California’s prison system was operating at roughly 120% — or 16,000 people — over its designed capacity, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not only are some prisons overcrowded, but the department is unable to evacuate the incarcerated population and staff at most prisons within the first critical 72 hours of an emergency,” the report noted. “Without the ability to quickly evacuate prisons, it is likely that wildfires, floods, and earthquakes will result in loss of life within the incarcerated population.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12038872 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/gettyimages-2210243092-1020x680.jpeg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Notably, the inspector general found that none of the prisons included a plan to evacuate incarcerated people outside their gates, but rather focused on moving “the incarcerated population to and from locations within the prison.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report concluded with a list of 18 recommendations, including ones that would bring the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation into compliance with California regulations around emergency planning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carlee Purdum, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Houston who researches how disasters impact incarcerated people, said the report is a “first step” in identifying more resources to support prisons and corrections agencies as they plan and prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Purdum said. “Prisons and corrections agencies are very marginalized and isolated in the emergency and disaster planning space. The significant takeaway should be that we have not engaged in these kinds of discussions, and put forth the kind of state level resources and accountability into these institutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for years have been sounding the alarm over the ways in which California prisons are ill-equipped to confront climate hazards due to issues such as overcrowding and aging infrastructure. A \u003ca href=\"https://ellabakercenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Hidden-Hazards-Report-FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2023 report (PDF)\u003c/a> by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the nonprofit organization Ella Baker Center for Human Rights chronicled those concerns and urged the state to implement safeguards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People inside have a fear that the actual plan is to abandon them in the case of an emergency. It is deeply troubling,” said James King, director of programs for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. “In these public health crises, it’s not just going to affect the people in the prisons, either incarcerated there or working there. It’s going to impact the entire county, the entire community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/031623-Corcoran-Flood-LV_05-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\">\u003cfigcaption>Trucks driving through the flooded intersection on Highway 43 near Corcoran on March 15, 2023. The flood was caused by rising water levels on the Tule River after a series of storms. \u003cem>Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Those concerns were echoed by Dax Proctor, statewide coordinator for Californians United for a Responsible Budget, a statewide coalition of organizations that view climate hazards as a key reason to close prisons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The number one solution to address these issues at hand is to reduce the number of people locked up in California prisons as rapidly as possible,” Proctor said. “A good starting place would be those most vulnerable to climate hazards.”[aside postID=science_1996303 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/19-1115_0531-1020x679.jpg']Officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services answered questions about the report before lawmakers at a hearing Thursday. They assured lawmakers that the department would not work alone in a large-scale emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California has a vast amount of resources and we would rely heavily on our federal, state and local partners to assist us with the evacuation of an entire prison,” said Melissa Prill, special agent-in-charge at the corrections department’s Office of Correctional Safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Sen. Laura Richardson, a Democrat from Inglewood, said that in an unpredictable situation, those partners “may be busy assisting other people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To assume that these other agencies are going to be available to help you, or to help us in a prison environment is not something, going forward, we have the freedom to assume,” Richardson said. “I would give this (office of inspector general)’s report of your organization — I would consider it an ‘F’ — frankly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican from Murrieta, said he wasn’t “extremely critically concerned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we’re getting a little overboard in terms of thinking that we are going to have to evacuate entire prisons,” Seyarto said. “It’s just not a practical thing to think that somehow the whole prison is going to catch on fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to CalMatters, department spokesperson Mary Xjimenez said prisons take an “all-hazards” approach to emergency planning and that it coordinates its plans with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The department “follows the FEMA National Incident Management System, which is the national doctrine that provides all federal, state, and local response agencies with a consistent set of principles, management structures, and a systematic approach to emergency response.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>King said the department has a history of being unprepared for climate hazards and instead reacts to them once they inevitably occur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are simply facts,” King said. The department “could accept these facts and do something about them — or they could try to manage their response to the report. Disappointedly, it seems like they’ve chosen the latter. This is an opportunity to improve their response, to see the gaps and to create plans that address the gaps. ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/05/prisons-natural-disasters/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023, amid record-breaking rain and snow, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/tag/prisons/\">two prisons\u003c/a> in the southern San Joaquin Valley faced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-04-26/newsom-visits-flood-threatened-corcoran\">serious risk of flooding\u003c/a>. But neither prison, California State Prison, Corcoran or the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility, had a robust evacuation plan on hand and ready for the looming disaster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, the prisons developed a joint plan to transfer roughly 8,000 incarcerated people to other state prisons within 11 to 14 days — or longer. Wheelchair-bound individuals, the plan stated, would take six days to evacuate. And department buses intended to shuttle people to safety could take up to a day to arrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The floods that year ultimately did not reach the prisons, but the threat they posed illustrated how California’s 90,000-prisoner corrections system has failed to prepare for natural disasters. That’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.oig.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Audit-of-the-California-Department-of-Corrections-and-Rehabilitations-Natural-Disaster-Emergency-Preparedness-and-Mitigation-Efforts.pdf\">according to a report issued last week\u003c/a> by an independent agency that oversees the department’s disciplinary process and internal investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While California’s prisons are vulnerable to wildfires, floods, and earthquakes, we found they are not adequately prepared to respond to emergencies posed by natural disasters,” stated the report by the Office of Inspector General, which reviewed emergency plans for 30 state prisons after fielding concerns about the department’s disaster response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report detailed deep fractures in the department’s emergency preparedness, including issues of transportation, varied risk assessment methodologies, lacking mutual aid agreements, timely evacuations, and prison overcrowding. As of December, California’s prison system was operating at roughly 120% — or 16,000 people — over its designed capacity, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not only are some prisons overcrowded, but the department is unable to evacuate the incarcerated population and staff at most prisons within the first critical 72 hours of an emergency,” the report noted. “Without the ability to quickly evacuate prisons, it is likely that wildfires, floods, and earthquakes will result in loss of life within the incarcerated population.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Notably, the inspector general found that none of the prisons included a plan to evacuate incarcerated people outside their gates, but rather focused on moving “the incarcerated population to and from locations within the prison.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report concluded with a list of 18 recommendations, including ones that would bring the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation into compliance with California regulations around emergency planning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carlee Purdum, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Houston who researches how disasters impact incarcerated people, said the report is a “first step” in identifying more resources to support prisons and corrections agencies as they plan and prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Purdum said. “Prisons and corrections agencies are very marginalized and isolated in the emergency and disaster planning space. The significant takeaway should be that we have not engaged in these kinds of discussions, and put forth the kind of state level resources and accountability into these institutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for years have been sounding the alarm over the ways in which California prisons are ill-equipped to confront climate hazards due to issues such as overcrowding and aging infrastructure. A \u003ca href=\"https://ellabakercenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Hidden-Hazards-Report-FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2023 report (PDF)\u003c/a> by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the nonprofit organization Ella Baker Center for Human Rights chronicled those concerns and urged the state to implement safeguards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People inside have a fear that the actual plan is to abandon them in the case of an emergency. It is deeply troubling,” said James King, director of programs for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. “In these public health crises, it’s not just going to affect the people in the prisons, either incarcerated there or working there. It’s going to impact the entire county, the entire community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/031623-Corcoran-Flood-LV_05-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\">\u003cfigcaption>Trucks driving through the flooded intersection on Highway 43 near Corcoran on March 15, 2023. The flood was caused by rising water levels on the Tule River after a series of storms. \u003cem>Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Those concerns were echoed by Dax Proctor, statewide coordinator for Californians United for a Responsible Budget, a statewide coalition of organizations that view climate hazards as a key reason to close prisons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The number one solution to address these issues at hand is to reduce the number of people locked up in California prisons as rapidly as possible,” Proctor said. “A good starting place would be those most vulnerable to climate hazards.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services answered questions about the report before lawmakers at a hearing Thursday. They assured lawmakers that the department would not work alone in a large-scale emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California has a vast amount of resources and we would rely heavily on our federal, state and local partners to assist us with the evacuation of an entire prison,” said Melissa Prill, special agent-in-charge at the corrections department’s Office of Correctional Safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Sen. Laura Richardson, a Democrat from Inglewood, said that in an unpredictable situation, those partners “may be busy assisting other people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To assume that these other agencies are going to be available to help you, or to help us in a prison environment is not something, going forward, we have the freedom to assume,” Richardson said. “I would give this (office of inspector general)’s report of your organization — I would consider it an ‘F’ — frankly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican from Murrieta, said he wasn’t “extremely critically concerned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we’re getting a little overboard in terms of thinking that we are going to have to evacuate entire prisons,” Seyarto said. “It’s just not a practical thing to think that somehow the whole prison is going to catch on fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to CalMatters, department spokesperson Mary Xjimenez said prisons take an “all-hazards” approach to emergency planning and that it coordinates its plans with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The department “follows the FEMA National Incident Management System, which is the national doctrine that provides all federal, state, and local response agencies with a consistent set of principles, management structures, and a systematic approach to emergency response.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>King said the department has a history of being unprepared for climate hazards and instead reacts to them once they inevitably occur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are simply facts,” King said. The department “could accept these facts and do something about them — or they could try to manage their response to the report. Disappointedly, it seems like they’ve chosen the latter. This is an opportunity to improve their response, to see the gaps and to create plans that address the gaps. ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/05/prisons-natural-disasters/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "miles-of-delta-levees-are-at-risk-of-floods-repairs-could-cost-3-billion",
"title": "Miles of Delta Levees Are at Risk of Floods. Repairs Could Cost $3 billion",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As winter storms soaked California in \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/01/california-floods-sacramento-valley/\">early 2023\u003c/a>, the Sacramento River swelled toward flood stage. Levees protecting large expanses of farmland and many towns sprung leaks. At one site, response crews drove metal sheets into the earthen berm and lined the levee face with heavy rock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The work cost almost $700,000, paid by local farmers who had to take out a loan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was way beyond our means, but we had to do it,” said Daniel Wilson, a farmer near the Delta town of Walnut Grove and trustee of the management agency responsible for the levee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because the region was declared a disaster zone, funding help was available through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_dr-4699-ca-public-notice-004.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Federal Emergency Management Agency (PDF)\u003c/a>. But two years later, the money still hasn’t arrived. Other districts in the region also are waiting for reimbursements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is facing a funding crisis that has bogged down efforts to repair and maintain an aging network of about 1,100 miles of levees that protect the region from floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These protective ridges of dirt and rocks, mostly on private land, are at growing risk of rupturing, which would endanger half a million people, mostly in Stockton but also in smaller towns and farmsteads. Also threatened are thousands of acres of farmland, highways and water supply pumps that send water to much of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The summer of 2004 saw a major failure when the privately owned levee surrounding a large parcel of farmers’ fields called \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/exhibits/docs/PPorgans/porgans_301.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jones Tract (PDF)\u003c/a>, which mostly sits below sea level, burst. Water surged through the break, flooding 12,000 acres, which remained swamped for months. Dozens of barns and a few homes were submerged. The response and repair effort — including rebuilding hundreds of feet of levee and pumping out the water — cost $90 million in government and private funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, last year, water seeped under a levee that rings Victoria Island west of Stockton, just a few miles north of pumping stations that send water to 30 million Californians and vast tracts of farmland. A breach would have created powerful suction, drawing in large volumes of brackish San Francisco Bay water and forcing the pumps to shut down for weeks. Crews drove sheet piles deep into the levee to stem the leak and stop the flow of water under the levee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without substantial improvements to Delta levees in the next 25 years, “more than $10 billion in agricultural, residential, commercial, and infrastructure assets and nearly $2 billion in annual economic activity would be exposed to flooding,” according to an estimate from the Delta Stewardship Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Mount, a geomorphologist and water infrastructure expert with the Public Policy Institute of California, said the recent near-miss at Victoria Island could be a harbinger of more dangerous levee breaks to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12025860 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/GettyImages-1252054830-1020x574.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is considered one of the really good levees, and they nearly lost it,” Mount said. “So what about the other ones?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With state and federal assistance programs falling behind on reimbursements or losing funding, landowners are struggling to keep pace with maintenance. Many are in debt from recent projects, and the backlog of upgrades and repairs is growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billions of dollars are needed to upgrade the Delta’s levees to basic safety standards, but the estimated costs far exceed the funding metered out by state and federal agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Repairing Delta levees could cost at least $3.2 billion by 2050, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://deltacouncil.ca.gov/pdf/delta-plan/2024-11-18-delta-adapts-draft-adaptation-plan.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Delta Stewardship Council (PDF)\u003c/a>. State water officials estimate that about \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Work-With-Us/Grants-And-Loans/Delta-Levees-Special-Flood-Control-Projects/Files/Compilation-of-2018-Delta-Levees-Five-Year-Plan-Data.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$1.06 billion (PDF)\u003c/a> is needed for Delta levee upgrades in just the next five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across the entire Central Valley, the problem balloons to $30 billion in overdue upgrades to protect against worst-case scenario flooding, which could cause $1 trillion in damage, according to the state’s 2022 \u003ca href=\"https://cvfpb.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Central_Valley_Flood_Protection_Plan_Update_2022_ADOPTED.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the districts in the Central Valley have a list of projects that they would like to get accomplished,” said Meegan Nagy, general manager of the Sacramento River West Side Levee District, which manages levees upstream of the state capital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few miles southeast of Sacramento, a privately owned levee system beside the Cosumnes River ruptured on New Year’s Eve in 2022 during a powerful downpour. The \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/01/california-floods-sacramento-valley/\">flooding\u003c/a> killed three people, swamped homes, shut down Highway 99 and washed away vehicles. The local levee management agency, funded by its landowners, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.therivervalleytimes.com/2025/02/05/522291/sloughhouse-levee-erosion-prompts-emergency-declaration\">reportedly still waiting\u003c/a> for federal emergency relief money two years later and, as of January, still owed the bank $7 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1402\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-800x561.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-1020x715.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-1536x1077.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-1920x1346.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crews repair a levee on the north side of the Cosumnes River on Jan. 2, 2023, after it was breached by heavy rains that flooded Sacramento County roads and properties near Wilton. \u003ccite>(Fred Greaves/Reuters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stockton, on the eastern edge of the Delta, faces a constant risk of flooding. U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, a Democrat from Tracy, said the problem stems from inadequate federal funding for levee upkeep and red tape that hinders maintenance and repairs by local agencies. He has co-authored a bill, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5304/text\">Safeguarding Our Levees Act\u003c/a>, that would address some of these issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For too long we’ve been left behind in federal funding,” Harder said. “No family should have to watch floodwater pour into their living room while government stalls.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parts of the region are essentially on borrowed time, with levees facing a uniquely overbearing workload, said Steven Deverel, a hydrologist at HydroFocus, Inc., who has studied Delta levees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most levees, he explained, hold back water only during high flow events. But in the Delta, “levees are really more like dams in that they have to hold back water 24–7.” This unique arrangement makes much of the region particularly vulnerable to flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You basically have holes in the ground as much as 25 feet deep, and the only thing that holds back the water is levees,” Mount said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pumping the water out is increasingly expensive because of rising electricity rates, said engineer Gilbert Cosio with River Delta Consulting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last few years have been a perfect storm for expenditures,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Landowners in debt for fixing levees\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since the 1970s, California has invested \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/36t9s0mp#:~:text=%3E%20%24700%20million%20since%20the%20mid%2D1970s\">more than $700 million\u003c/a> in Delta levee work. Just the last two budget cycles have dedicated $560 million to flood response and flood protection statewide, plus other investments, according to Laura Hollender, the California Department of Water Resources’ deputy director of flood management and dam safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Delta locals worry that critical programs protecting their region are being sidelined. The state cut a key levee maintenance fund from the budget this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sluggish state reimbursements on cost-shared projects through the \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/Work-With-Us/Grants-And-Loans/Delta-Levees-Maintenance-Subventions\">Delta Levees Maintenance Subventions Program\u003c/a> leaves local landowners — who must front the costs of repairs — accruing interest on loans they can’t pay back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s expensive and these districts go into debt to do these projects,” said Emily Pappalardo, an engineer with the local firm that designed and directed Wilson’s levee repair in 2023, DCC Engineering Co., in Walnut Grove. “Every dollar these districts spend should be on improving and maintaining their levees instead of chasing after the money to do it … or paying interest on loans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson said that the FEMA reimbursement would not cover the costs of borrowing money to pay for the repairs. “The whole time the interest clock is ticking,” he said. That means less money for further levee upkeep. “If we had an issue this winter or last winter, we’d have been in a world of hurt,” Wilson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035467\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035467\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: River Road, also known as State Route 160, runs along a levee on the Sacramento River. Right: A repaired section of the levee near Isleton on the Sacramento River. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until several years ago, according to sources, levee upgrades completed in the fall were followed by state reimbursements in the spring. “By the end of June, everyone had their money” in time to start working on spring and summer levee projects, said Cosio, at River Delta Consulting. “Now, it’s not until the fall or later that we get the money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmer Harvey Correia, who has orchards near Isleton, said state claim filing requirements and slow processing mean that in some cases more than two years can pass before landowners are reimbursed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we’re paying interest on loans while we’re waiting for money from the state,” Correia said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jason Ince, a spokesperson at the Department of Water Resources, said the agency strives to process payments “as quickly as possible” but said each request must be investigated and verified through site visits and coordination with other agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson, near Walnut Grove, said many local levee managers are financially swamped. “They’re in debt beyond their ability to pay it back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pappalardo, who grew up in the Delta, wants to see more consistent funding of the levees subventions program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the program relies on periodic bond funding. The current cash pool amounts to about $14 million and derives from bonds that voters approved in 2014 and 2006, Ince said.[aside postID=science_1994168 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/09/240820-PajaroFolo-112-BL-2-1020x680.jpg']Late last year, voters approved \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2024/11/california-election-news-proposition-4-environment/\">Proposition 4\u003c/a>, a $10 billion water, wildlife and climate bond, directing \u003ca href=\"https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2024/general/pdf/prop4-text-proposed-laws.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$150 million (PDF)\u003c/a> to Delta flood protection, levee upgrades and climate resiliency work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sources said they expect it will provide more money for the program, but they emphasized that it, too, will run out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These levees aren’t going anywhere,” Pappalardo said. “This is infrastructure and these costs are always going to be here … this is general maintenance.” Ideally, she said, money would come from the state’s general fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also frustrated at the trickling pace of subventions funding for Delta levees is Stockton attorney Dante Nomellini, Jr., who has represented the Central Delta Water Agency and several Delta reclamation districts. He said the program is “well-oiled” but that its funding could be more reliable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The funding dries up every few years and we have to fight to get more,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Neudeck, a levee engineer whose firm — Kjeldsen, Sinnock & Neudeck, Inc — repaired the Victoria Island breach this winter, believes the flagging funding for levees has a simple explanation:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s called the flood memory half-life,” he said. “How long does a politician hold memory of a disaster? Many say it’s six months, others say nine months … If we don’t have a flood event every year, we’re screwed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An uncertain future for the Delta\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Levee upgrades come in different forms. Some are relatively quick and easy, involving basic materials — like riprap, the rocks and boulders that line many levees — to provide armoring against erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others are more sophisticated. One nearly finished project near the Delta town of Isleton, along Highway 160, builds in fish and bird habitat in the form of vegetated “benches” near the water line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The benches serve a double purpose,” said Pappalardo, whose firm designed the project. “While they provide habitat, they also reduce the velocity of the river.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because Pappalardo’s project provides multiple benefits, the upgrade qualified for a 94% funding reimbursement from the state. But the total cost was about $18 million for 1.4 miles of levee, and the 6% that the reclamation district must cover on its own “is still a heavy lift for them,” Pappalardo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035471\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035471\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emily Pappalardo, principal engineer at DCC Engineering Co. Inc., is shown on the banks of the Sacramento River near Isleton. Pappalardo helped oversee the Sacramento River Erosion Repair and Habitat Enhancement Project to reduce bank erosion by planting native vegetation along the Sacramento River and levees. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">First: Native vegetation is protected by beaver fencing on the bank of the Sacramento River near Isleton. Last: Tule was planted along the banks of the Sacramento River near Isleton. The native plants reduce erosion of the river’s levee system. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Though costly and tangled in thickets of program and agency acronyms, most levee upgrade projects are not terribly complicated. They often involve dump trucks dropping material on top of or down a slope of a levee. Barges can help. The goal in most projects is to build the levee, vertically and horizontally, to dimensions defined by several distinct \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Work-With-Us/Grants-And-Loans/Delta-Levees-Special-Flood-Control-Projects/Files/Compilation-of-2018-Delta-Levees-Five-Year-Plan-Data.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">standards (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These federal and state standards call for a range of parameters in levee height, width and slope steepness. Among these standards is that of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Operations/PL-84-99/#:~:text=Public%20Law%2084%2D99%2C%20Emergency,and%20after%20a%20flood%20event.\">Public Law 84-99\u003c/a>. Certain levees built to this standard are eligible for support from the Army Corps should they leak or break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2019, the \u003ca href=\"https://cvfpb.ca.gov/news/dwr-has-released-the-flood-maintenance-assistance-program-fmap-guidelines/\">Flood Maintenance Assistance Program\u003c/a>, enacted by the Department of Water Resources, has provided local levee maintenance agencies with $40 million to help their levees comply with the federal standard.[aside postID=news_12016813 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/170111_KingTide_bhs14-1020x680.jpg']This has leveraged massive amounts of federal funding when levees damaged by high waters need to be repaired, said Nagy at the Sacramento River West Side Levee District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my district alone, since 2017, we have had about $30 million worth of federal funding for post-flood repairs,” Nagy said. The program “is one of the most successful programs the department has executed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the state’s Flood Maintenance Assistance Program was put “on hold” this year due to budget constraints, according to the Department of Water Resources. Nagy worries this could accelerate levee deterioration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we have multiple years when that program is not funded, then every year we get closer to losing eligibility for federal funding post-flood,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/36t9s0mp\">assessment\u003c/a> of Delta levee vulnerability in 2016, Deverel and several coauthors wrote that although general compliance with various standards is “encouraging,” fully protecting any given island in the Delta “requires 100% compliance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nomellini thinks full protection is achievable. “This is not rocket science,” he said. “This is dirt and rock. If there was the political will, we could have the best levees west of the Mississippi.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mount said the amount of money needed to maintain the Delta’s levees may be the most insurmountable obstacle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What do you do if you don’t have the money?” he said. “What is the long-term vision for the Delta?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Delta Stewardship Council, Jeff Henderson, deputy executive officer of planning and performance, said parts of the western Delta more exposed to the influence of tides and rising sea level may face an uncertain future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In such locations, reinforcing levees may become technically or financially unsustainable over time, prompting conversations about alternative strategies,” Henderson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erosion and weathering are just two factors gnawing at levee integrity. Burrowing beavers cause occasional collapses. So have invasive \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Invasives/Species/Nutria/Infestation\">nutria\u003c/a>, semi-aquatic rodents native to South America and now a recognized nuisance to California’s wetlands and levees. Toppling trees, too, can tear out the flank of a levee, and earthquakes are considered a constant danger — though just how serious is debated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another matter that has progressively compromised the Delta’s levees is subsidence — the land is sinking, an outcome of when \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/what-peat-subsidence-and-how-can-countries-prevent-environmental-disaster#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20the%20previously,carbon%20losses%20%2C%20which%20triggers%20subsidence.\">peat soil\u003c/a> is exposed to oxygen and breaks down, emitting carbon dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 2 billion cubic meters of Delta soil volume has disappeared since the 1850s, according to Deverel’s 2016 paper. Today, much cropland and scattered residences lie a precarious 15 to 20 feet and more \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/36t9s0mp#:~:text=Land%20surface%20elevations\">below sea level\u003c/a>. All the while, the ocean is rising, though slowly, and winter flooding is growing more extreme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have rising sea level, increasing winter storms and atmospheric rivers, and the longer it’s been since the last earthquake the closer we are to the next,” Mount said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He predicts that lower-value land will eventually go underwater as levees wear out and the will to maintain them wanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Will the Delta look like this forever?” he asked. “The answer is no.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was updated on April 8 to clarify a grower’s comments on why reimbursements sometimes take two years.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2025/04/delta-levees-risk-of-floods-repairs-cost-3-billion/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Delta faces a funding crisis to repair and maintain an aging network of 1,100 miles of levees. These earthen berms, mostly on private land, could rupture and endanger half a million people and flood thousands of acres of farmland.",
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"title": "Miles of Delta Levees Are at Risk of Floods. Repairs Could Cost $3 billion | KQED",
"description": "The Delta faces a funding crisis to repair and maintain an aging network of 1,100 miles of levees. These earthen berms, mostly on private land, could rupture and endanger half a million people and flood thousands of acres of farmland.",
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"headline": "Miles of Delta Levees Are at Risk of Floods. Repairs Could Cost $3 billion",
"datePublished": "2025-04-13T10:30:59-07:00",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/alastair-bland/\">Alastair Bland\u003c/a>, CalMatters",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As winter storms soaked California in \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/01/california-floods-sacramento-valley/\">early 2023\u003c/a>, the Sacramento River swelled toward flood stage. Levees protecting large expanses of farmland and many towns sprung leaks. At one site, response crews drove metal sheets into the earthen berm and lined the levee face with heavy rock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The work cost almost $700,000, paid by local farmers who had to take out a loan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was way beyond our means, but we had to do it,” said Daniel Wilson, a farmer near the Delta town of Walnut Grove and trustee of the management agency responsible for the levee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because the region was declared a disaster zone, funding help was available through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_dr-4699-ca-public-notice-004.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Federal Emergency Management Agency (PDF)\u003c/a>. But two years later, the money still hasn’t arrived. Other districts in the region also are waiting for reimbursements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is facing a funding crisis that has bogged down efforts to repair and maintain an aging network of about 1,100 miles of levees that protect the region from floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These protective ridges of dirt and rocks, mostly on private land, are at growing risk of rupturing, which would endanger half a million people, mostly in Stockton but also in smaller towns and farmsteads. Also threatened are thousands of acres of farmland, highways and water supply pumps that send water to much of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The summer of 2004 saw a major failure when the privately owned levee surrounding a large parcel of farmers’ fields called \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/exhibits/docs/PPorgans/porgans_301.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jones Tract (PDF)\u003c/a>, which mostly sits below sea level, burst. Water surged through the break, flooding 12,000 acres, which remained swamped for months. Dozens of barns and a few homes were submerged. The response and repair effort — including rebuilding hundreds of feet of levee and pumping out the water — cost $90 million in government and private funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, last year, water seeped under a levee that rings Victoria Island west of Stockton, just a few miles north of pumping stations that send water to 30 million Californians and vast tracts of farmland. A breach would have created powerful suction, drawing in large volumes of brackish San Francisco Bay water and forcing the pumps to shut down for weeks. Crews drove sheet piles deep into the levee to stem the leak and stop the flow of water under the levee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without substantial improvements to Delta levees in the next 25 years, “more than $10 billion in agricultural, residential, commercial, and infrastructure assets and nearly $2 billion in annual economic activity would be exposed to flooding,” according to an estimate from the Delta Stewardship Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Mount, a geomorphologist and water infrastructure expert with the Public Policy Institute of California, said the recent near-miss at Victoria Island could be a harbinger of more dangerous levee breaks to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is considered one of the really good levees, and they nearly lost it,” Mount said. “So what about the other ones?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With state and federal assistance programs falling behind on reimbursements or losing funding, landowners are struggling to keep pace with maintenance. Many are in debt from recent projects, and the backlog of upgrades and repairs is growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billions of dollars are needed to upgrade the Delta’s levees to basic safety standards, but the estimated costs far exceed the funding metered out by state and federal agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Repairing Delta levees could cost at least $3.2 billion by 2050, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://deltacouncil.ca.gov/pdf/delta-plan/2024-11-18-delta-adapts-draft-adaptation-plan.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Delta Stewardship Council (PDF)\u003c/a>. State water officials estimate that about \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Work-With-Us/Grants-And-Loans/Delta-Levees-Special-Flood-Control-Projects/Files/Compilation-of-2018-Delta-Levees-Five-Year-Plan-Data.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$1.06 billion (PDF)\u003c/a> is needed for Delta levee upgrades in just the next five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across the entire Central Valley, the problem balloons to $30 billion in overdue upgrades to protect against worst-case scenario flooding, which could cause $1 trillion in damage, according to the state’s 2022 \u003ca href=\"https://cvfpb.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Central_Valley_Flood_Protection_Plan_Update_2022_ADOPTED.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the districts in the Central Valley have a list of projects that they would like to get accomplished,” said Meegan Nagy, general manager of the Sacramento River West Side Levee District, which manages levees upstream of the state capital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few miles southeast of Sacramento, a privately owned levee system beside the Cosumnes River ruptured on New Year’s Eve in 2022 during a powerful downpour. The \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/01/california-floods-sacramento-valley/\">flooding\u003c/a> killed three people, swamped homes, shut down Highway 99 and washed away vehicles. The local levee management agency, funded by its landowners, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.therivervalleytimes.com/2025/02/05/522291/sloughhouse-levee-erosion-prompts-emergency-declaration\">reportedly still waiting\u003c/a> for federal emergency relief money two years later and, as of January, still owed the bank $7 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1402\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-800x561.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-1020x715.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-1536x1077.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/010323-WILTON-FLOODING-REUTERS-FG-CM-copy-1920x1346.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crews repair a levee on the north side of the Cosumnes River on Jan. 2, 2023, after it was breached by heavy rains that flooded Sacramento County roads and properties near Wilton. \u003ccite>(Fred Greaves/Reuters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stockton, on the eastern edge of the Delta, faces a constant risk of flooding. U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, a Democrat from Tracy, said the problem stems from inadequate federal funding for levee upkeep and red tape that hinders maintenance and repairs by local agencies. He has co-authored a bill, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5304/text\">Safeguarding Our Levees Act\u003c/a>, that would address some of these issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For too long we’ve been left behind in federal funding,” Harder said. “No family should have to watch floodwater pour into their living room while government stalls.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parts of the region are essentially on borrowed time, with levees facing a uniquely overbearing workload, said Steven Deverel, a hydrologist at HydroFocus, Inc., who has studied Delta levees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most levees, he explained, hold back water only during high flow events. But in the Delta, “levees are really more like dams in that they have to hold back water 24–7.” This unique arrangement makes much of the region particularly vulnerable to flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You basically have holes in the ground as much as 25 feet deep, and the only thing that holds back the water is levees,” Mount said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pumping the water out is increasingly expensive because of rising electricity rates, said engineer Gilbert Cosio with River Delta Consulting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last few years have been a perfect storm for expenditures,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Landowners in debt for fixing levees\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since the 1970s, California has invested \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/36t9s0mp#:~:text=%3E%20%24700%20million%20since%20the%20mid%2D1970s\">more than $700 million\u003c/a> in Delta levee work. Just the last two budget cycles have dedicated $560 million to flood response and flood protection statewide, plus other investments, according to Laura Hollender, the California Department of Water Resources’ deputy director of flood management and dam safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Delta locals worry that critical programs protecting their region are being sidelined. The state cut a key levee maintenance fund from the budget this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sluggish state reimbursements on cost-shared projects through the \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/Work-With-Us/Grants-And-Loans/Delta-Levees-Maintenance-Subventions\">Delta Levees Maintenance Subventions Program\u003c/a> leaves local landowners — who must front the costs of repairs — accruing interest on loans they can’t pay back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s expensive and these districts go into debt to do these projects,” said Emily Pappalardo, an engineer with the local firm that designed and directed Wilson’s levee repair in 2023, DCC Engineering Co., in Walnut Grove. “Every dollar these districts spend should be on improving and maintaining their levees instead of chasing after the money to do it … or paying interest on loans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson said that the FEMA reimbursement would not cover the costs of borrowing money to pay for the repairs. “The whole time the interest clock is ticking,” he said. That means less money for further levee upkeep. “If we had an issue this winter or last winter, we’d have been in a world of hurt,” Wilson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035467\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035467\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-6-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: River Road, also known as State Route 160, runs along a levee on the Sacramento River. Right: A repaired section of the levee near Isleton on the Sacramento River. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until several years ago, according to sources, levee upgrades completed in the fall were followed by state reimbursements in the spring. “By the end of June, everyone had their money” in time to start working on spring and summer levee projects, said Cosio, at River Delta Consulting. “Now, it’s not until the fall or later that we get the money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmer Harvey Correia, who has orchards near Isleton, said state claim filing requirements and slow processing mean that in some cases more than two years can pass before landowners are reimbursed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we’re paying interest on loans while we’re waiting for money from the state,” Correia said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jason Ince, a spokesperson at the Department of Water Resources, said the agency strives to process payments “as quickly as possible” but said each request must be investigated and verified through site visits and coordination with other agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson, near Walnut Grove, said many local levee managers are financially swamped. “They’re in debt beyond their ability to pay it back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pappalardo, who grew up in the Delta, wants to see more consistent funding of the levees subventions program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the program relies on periodic bond funding. The current cash pool amounts to about $14 million and derives from bonds that voters approved in 2014 and 2006, Ince said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Late last year, voters approved \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2024/11/california-election-news-proposition-4-environment/\">Proposition 4\u003c/a>, a $10 billion water, wildlife and climate bond, directing \u003ca href=\"https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2024/general/pdf/prop4-text-proposed-laws.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$150 million (PDF)\u003c/a> to Delta flood protection, levee upgrades and climate resiliency work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sources said they expect it will provide more money for the program, but they emphasized that it, too, will run out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These levees aren’t going anywhere,” Pappalardo said. “This is infrastructure and these costs are always going to be here … this is general maintenance.” Ideally, she said, money would come from the state’s general fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also frustrated at the trickling pace of subventions funding for Delta levees is Stockton attorney Dante Nomellini, Jr., who has represented the Central Delta Water Agency and several Delta reclamation districts. He said the program is “well-oiled” but that its funding could be more reliable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The funding dries up every few years and we have to fight to get more,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Neudeck, a levee engineer whose firm — Kjeldsen, Sinnock & Neudeck, Inc — repaired the Victoria Island breach this winter, believes the flagging funding for levees has a simple explanation:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s called the flood memory half-life,” he said. “How long does a politician hold memory of a disaster? Many say it’s six months, others say nine months … If we don’t have a flood event every year, we’re screwed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An uncertain future for the Delta\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Levee upgrades come in different forms. Some are relatively quick and easy, involving basic materials — like riprap, the rocks and boulders that line many levees — to provide armoring against erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others are more sophisticated. One nearly finished project near the Delta town of Isleton, along Highway 160, builds in fish and bird habitat in the form of vegetated “benches” near the water line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The benches serve a double purpose,” said Pappalardo, whose firm designed the project. “While they provide habitat, they also reduce the velocity of the river.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because Pappalardo’s project provides multiple benefits, the upgrade qualified for a 94% funding reimbursement from the state. But the total cost was about $18 million for 1.4 miles of levee, and the 6% that the reclamation district must cover on its own “is still a heavy lift for them,” Pappalardo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035471\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035471\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/040125_Isleton-Delta_MG_10-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emily Pappalardo, principal engineer at DCC Engineering Co. Inc., is shown on the banks of the Sacramento River near Isleton. Pappalardo helped oversee the Sacramento River Erosion Repair and Habitat Enhancement Project to reduce bank erosion by planting native vegetation along the Sacramento River and levees. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-7-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">First: Native vegetation is protected by beaver fencing on the bank of the Sacramento River near Isleton. Last: Tule was planted along the banks of the Sacramento River near Isleton. The native plants reduce erosion of the river’s levee system. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Though costly and tangled in thickets of program and agency acronyms, most levee upgrade projects are not terribly complicated. They often involve dump trucks dropping material on top of or down a slope of a levee. Barges can help. The goal in most projects is to build the levee, vertically and horizontally, to dimensions defined by several distinct \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Work-With-Us/Grants-And-Loans/Delta-Levees-Special-Flood-Control-Projects/Files/Compilation-of-2018-Delta-Levees-Five-Year-Plan-Data.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">standards (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These federal and state standards call for a range of parameters in levee height, width and slope steepness. Among these standards is that of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Operations/PL-84-99/#:~:text=Public%20Law%2084%2D99%2C%20Emergency,and%20after%20a%20flood%20event.\">Public Law 84-99\u003c/a>. Certain levees built to this standard are eligible for support from the Army Corps should they leak or break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2019, the \u003ca href=\"https://cvfpb.ca.gov/news/dwr-has-released-the-flood-maintenance-assistance-program-fmap-guidelines/\">Flood Maintenance Assistance Program\u003c/a>, enacted by the Department of Water Resources, has provided local levee maintenance agencies with $40 million to help their levees comply with the federal standard.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This has leveraged massive amounts of federal funding when levees damaged by high waters need to be repaired, said Nagy at the Sacramento River West Side Levee District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my district alone, since 2017, we have had about $30 million worth of federal funding for post-flood repairs,” Nagy said. The program “is one of the most successful programs the department has executed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the state’s Flood Maintenance Assistance Program was put “on hold” this year due to budget constraints, according to the Department of Water Resources. Nagy worries this could accelerate levee deterioration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we have multiple years when that program is not funded, then every year we get closer to losing eligibility for federal funding post-flood,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/36t9s0mp\">assessment\u003c/a> of Delta levee vulnerability in 2016, Deverel and several coauthors wrote that although general compliance with various standards is “encouraging,” fully protecting any given island in the Delta “requires 100% compliance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nomellini thinks full protection is achievable. “This is not rocket science,” he said. “This is dirt and rock. If there was the political will, we could have the best levees west of the Mississippi.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mount said the amount of money needed to maintain the Delta’s levees may be the most insurmountable obstacle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What do you do if you don’t have the money?” he said. “What is the long-term vision for the Delta?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Delta Stewardship Council, Jeff Henderson, deputy executive officer of planning and performance, said parts of the western Delta more exposed to the influence of tides and rising sea level may face an uncertain future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In such locations, reinforcing levees may become technically or financially unsustainable over time, prompting conversations about alternative strategies,” Henderson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erosion and weathering are just two factors gnawing at levee integrity. Burrowing beavers cause occasional collapses. So have invasive \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Invasives/Species/Nutria/Infestation\">nutria\u003c/a>, semi-aquatic rodents native to South America and now a recognized nuisance to California’s wetlands and levees. Toppling trees, too, can tear out the flank of a levee, and earthquakes are considered a constant danger — though just how serious is debated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another matter that has progressively compromised the Delta’s levees is subsidence — the land is sinking, an outcome of when \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/what-peat-subsidence-and-how-can-countries-prevent-environmental-disaster#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20the%20previously,carbon%20losses%20%2C%20which%20triggers%20subsidence.\">peat soil\u003c/a> is exposed to oxygen and breaks down, emitting carbon dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 2 billion cubic meters of Delta soil volume has disappeared since the 1850s, according to Deverel’s 2016 paper. Today, much cropland and scattered residences lie a precarious 15 to 20 feet and more \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/36t9s0mp#:~:text=Land%20surface%20elevations\">below sea level\u003c/a>. All the while, the ocean is rising, though slowly, and winter flooding is growing more extreme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have rising sea level, increasing winter storms and atmospheric rivers, and the longer it’s been since the last earthquake the closer we are to the next,” Mount said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He predicts that lower-value land will eventually go underwater as levees wear out and the will to maintain them wanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Will the Delta look like this forever?” he asked. “The answer is no.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was updated on April 8 to clarify a grower’s comments on why reimbursements sometimes take two years.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2025/04/delta-levees-risk-of-floods-repairs-cost-3-billion/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Bay Area mountain tops could see snow on Thursday morning after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030924/bay-area-storms-bring-days-wind-rain-unsettled-weather\">cold front arrived in the region\u003c/a> overnight. While the powder dusting won’t reach San Francisco or San José, the wider Bay Area could be hit with hail and thunderstorms before a break in the rain late in the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bulk of the rainfall from the storm that rolled through Wednesday has passed, according to the National Weather Service, but lingering moisture-rich clouds and low temperatures could create the perfect conditions for short, heavy downpours and thunderstorms throughout the morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Bay Area office, said hail is likely to accompany any thunder, but the chance is slim — just about 15% across the region. The South and East Bay have the highest chances for pea-sized pellets of ice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Temperatures across the region will be 8 to 15 degrees below seasonal averages throughout the day, with San Francisco and San José’s highs at 55 and 56 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chilly air blown in by Wednesday’s winds is more likely to drop snow on the North and South Bay’s mountains. Snow levels will descend to about 3,000 feet, according to the weather service, which includes Mount Diablo, Mount Hamilton, and some of the Santa Lucias’ highest peaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12029553 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/cleaner-1180x787.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s probably going to be what we call wetter snow, so not exactly like individual flakes, but dusting will be possible,” Murdock said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chances will be short-lived, though, as rain peters out this evening before the next in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030575/bay-area-braces-for-rain-snow-potential-flooding\">a series of storms\u003c/a> this week moves in. Murdock said that that system, arriving overnight, will bring warmer air with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This next system is not going to be as cold, so we’re probably not looking at another chance for snow again in this part of the forecast,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The heaviest rain on Friday will hit in the morning, and showers are expected throughout the day. Saturday looks fairly dry before a third storm is expected Sunday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That storm is shaping up to hit the North Bay hardest, but the rest of the Bay Area shouldn’t see rainfall totals greater than an inch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The forecast into next week is still uncertain, but the first day of spring could be a wet one since the weather service said it’s picking up another potential storm late in the week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Northern California should see a break in rain by Thursday evening, but in the meantime, there will be a chance of some thunderstorms and snow as low as 3,000 feet. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Bay Area mountain tops could see snow on Thursday morning after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030924/bay-area-storms-bring-days-wind-rain-unsettled-weather\">cold front arrived in the region\u003c/a> overnight. While the powder dusting won’t reach San Francisco or San José, the wider Bay Area could be hit with hail and thunderstorms before a break in the rain late in the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bulk of the rainfall from the storm that rolled through Wednesday has passed, according to the National Weather Service, but lingering moisture-rich clouds and low temperatures could create the perfect conditions for short, heavy downpours and thunderstorms throughout the morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Bay Area office, said hail is likely to accompany any thunder, but the chance is slim — just about 15% across the region. The South and East Bay have the highest chances for pea-sized pellets of ice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Temperatures across the region will be 8 to 15 degrees below seasonal averages throughout the day, with San Francisco and San José’s highs at 55 and 56 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chilly air blown in by Wednesday’s winds is more likely to drop snow on the North and South Bay’s mountains. Snow levels will descend to about 3,000 feet, according to the weather service, which includes Mount Diablo, Mount Hamilton, and some of the Santa Lucias’ highest peaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s probably going to be what we call wetter snow, so not exactly like individual flakes, but dusting will be possible,” Murdock said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chances will be short-lived, though, as rain peters out this evening before the next in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030575/bay-area-braces-for-rain-snow-potential-flooding\">a series of storms\u003c/a> this week moves in. Murdock said that that system, arriving overnight, will bring warmer air with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This next system is not going to be as cold, so we’re probably not looking at another chance for snow again in this part of the forecast,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The heaviest rain on Friday will hit in the morning, and showers are expected throughout the day. Saturday looks fairly dry before a third storm is expected Sunday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That storm is shaping up to hit the North Bay hardest, but the rest of the Bay Area shouldn’t see rainfall totals greater than an inch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The forecast into next week is still uncertain, but the first day of spring could be a wet one since the weather service said it’s picking up another potential storm late in the week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Bay Area is in for a wet rest of the workweek as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030575/bay-area-braces-for-rain-snow-potential-flooding\">series of storms\u003c/a> promising waves of wind and rain roll into Northern California on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After early morning rain along the coast, the main weather system will hit the North Bay by late morning and spread south, hitting San Francisco around midday. The South Bay mountains and Central Coast are expected to get hit the hardest, according to Roger Gass, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consistent, heavy rainfall and strong southerly winds will make for “nasty” conditions in the early afternoon, the weather service said, before a cold front arriving in the evening changes the storm pattern across the region. It said to be prepared for downed trees and related disruptions to roadways and power lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A wind advisory is in effect until 8 p.m. Wednesday, with gusts up to 45 mph in many places and up to 55 mph along the coast and on ridgelines, according to the weather service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As steady rain turns into more unstable showers, volatility will continue into Thursday, with heightened chances for thunderstorms and possibly hail. Rainfall is expected to ebb in the evening, offering a brief reprieve before more storms arrive through the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re forecasting unsettled weather conditions to persist and be generally at or below average for this time of year, but the strongest storm system is the one today,” Gass said. “We’re expecting the subsequent ones to be less impactful, and the next week will be kind of unsettled and cool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12028190 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/241115-PropKFolo-18-BL-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through Thursday afternoon, forecasters are expecting half an inch to an inch of rain across San Francisco. The highest totals will be in coastal ranges like the Santa Cruz Mountains, which could see up to 2 ½ inches, Gass said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm will also bring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029075/california-snowpack-rebounds-amid-a-wobbly-winter-with-more-storms-on-the-way\">more snow\u003c/a> to the Sierra Nevada with colder conditions Wednesday night. It could dump 8 to 12 inches on the Lake Tahoe area overnight, according to Gass, and another few inches throughout the day Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second of three storms this week will arrive Friday, bringing more steady rain similar to Wednesday, though likely less intense, according to the National Weather Service. A third similar storm is expected to hit the Bay Area on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rainfall totals aren’t expected to threaten river \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026874/bay-area-heavy-rain-flooding-landslides-thousands-without-power\">flooding\u003c/a> like the Bay Area saw in February, according to Gass, but streams, creeks and ponding on roadways could come as repeated storms dump a few inches at a time over the coming days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Past Monday, the forecast is fairly uncertain, but the weather service said conditions continue to look “unstable,” so don’t expect spring sunshine just yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not seeing much dry weather,” Gass said. “There will be breaks in between the systems, but we’re not expecting them to last long as more systems are on the way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Bay Area is in for a wet rest of the workweek as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030575/bay-area-braces-for-rain-snow-potential-flooding\">series of storms\u003c/a> promising waves of wind and rain roll into Northern California on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After early morning rain along the coast, the main weather system will hit the North Bay by late morning and spread south, hitting San Francisco around midday. The South Bay mountains and Central Coast are expected to get hit the hardest, according to Roger Gass, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consistent, heavy rainfall and strong southerly winds will make for “nasty” conditions in the early afternoon, the weather service said, before a cold front arriving in the evening changes the storm pattern across the region. It said to be prepared for downed trees and related disruptions to roadways and power lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A wind advisory is in effect until 8 p.m. Wednesday, with gusts up to 45 mph in many places and up to 55 mph along the coast and on ridgelines, according to the weather service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As steady rain turns into more unstable showers, volatility will continue into Thursday, with heightened chances for thunderstorms and possibly hail. Rainfall is expected to ebb in the evening, offering a brief reprieve before more storms arrive through the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re forecasting unsettled weather conditions to persist and be generally at or below average for this time of year, but the strongest storm system is the one today,” Gass said. “We’re expecting the subsequent ones to be less impactful, and the next week will be kind of unsettled and cool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through Thursday afternoon, forecasters are expecting half an inch to an inch of rain across San Francisco. The highest totals will be in coastal ranges like the Santa Cruz Mountains, which could see up to 2 ½ inches, Gass said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm will also bring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029075/california-snowpack-rebounds-amid-a-wobbly-winter-with-more-storms-on-the-way\">more snow\u003c/a> to the Sierra Nevada with colder conditions Wednesday night. It could dump 8 to 12 inches on the Lake Tahoe area overnight, according to Gass, and another few inches throughout the day Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second of three storms this week will arrive Friday, bringing more steady rain similar to Wednesday, though likely less intense, according to the National Weather Service. A third similar storm is expected to hit the Bay Area on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rainfall totals aren’t expected to threaten river \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026874/bay-area-heavy-rain-flooding-landslides-thousands-without-power\">flooding\u003c/a> like the Bay Area saw in February, according to Gass, but streams, creeks and ponding on roadways could come as repeated storms dump a few inches at a time over the coming days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Past Monday, the forecast is fairly uncertain, but the weather service said conditions continue to look “unstable,” so don’t expect spring sunshine just yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not seeing much dry weather,” Gass said. “There will be breaks in between the systems, but we’re not expecting them to last long as more systems are on the way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Nearly eight years to the day after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11788730/nearly-two-years-after-coyote-creek-floods-lawsuit-drags-on\">major flooding displaced thousands in San José\u003c/a>, officials on Thursday celebrated the completion of almost 9,000 feet of new floodwalls to help shield neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>South Bay leaders stood inside a newly enclosed patch of land in the city’s Olinder-McKinley neighborhood, highlighting one of seven areas between Highway 280 and Old Oakland Road that are now equipped with 10-foot steel walls, many encased in concrete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Eight years ago, residents of this neighborhood had to rush to leave their homes during the worst flooding in this area experienced since 1997,” Richard Santos, the vice chair of the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s Board of Directors, said during Thursday’s gathering. “This was a devastated area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The height and strength of the new barriers are meant to hold back heavy water flows during a 20-year flood event, a term used to refer to an intense flood that could happen once every 20 years or has a roughly 5% chance of happening in any given year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The walls represent the first phase of Valley Water’s Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project, which will ultimately cover several points across an eight-mile stretch along the creek between Montague Expressway and Tully Road in San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12028007\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12028007\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coyote Creek flows past the Olinder-McKinley neighborhood in San José, on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. The neighborhood was inundated in February 2017 during a major flood. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The project is also tied to a massive renovation and seismic retrofit underway at Anderson Dam in Morgan Hill, which could increase the flows into Coyote Creek when storm surges occur to stop the dam from overflowing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seven areas that were chosen for the first phase of walls are considered the most vulnerable to flooding because they are low-lying and are near sections of the creek where additional water would flow after a tunnel diversion portion of the dam upgrade is completed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials said the walls, which will vary slightly depending on where they are installed, can withstand a storm surge like the one seen on President’s Day weekend in 2017, when rushing waters overtopped the banks of Coyote Creek, overrunning parks, roads and homes, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11328162/san-jose-flooding-14000-told-to-evacuate\">triggering evacuation\u003c/a> orders or advisories for tens of thousands of people.[aside postID=news_12026630 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/SantaClaraCountyHomelessnessGetty1-1020x680.jpg']“I think those of us who were living here in San José in 2017, we all have some sort of personal story,” Valley Water board member Shiloh Ballard said during the announcement. “We know someone, or we experienced it personally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of San José faced significant criticism in the days and months after the flood, including in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11612712/the-san-jose-flood-what-went-wrong-and-how-the-city-plans-to-fix-it\">report it commissioned\u003c/a> that gave the city an “F” for its level of foresight regarding the storm. The report also lambasted its late notification to many residents, some of whom received evacuation orders after floodwaters were already at their door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saraí Rojas, a resident of the Olinder-McKinley neighborhood, lives in an apartment near the creek and said she is happy to see the floodwalls largely completed near her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important work. I want to think it’s a good use of tax dollars … because, though I didn’t live here in 2017, I’ve seen the pictures and the extent of all the damage. I’m also a firm believer in climate change,” Rojas said. “So anything that we can do to kind of assuage those negative impacts, I’m all for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rojas has also received flood-ready pamphlets and information from the water district and said she tries to stay vigilant during wet weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12028005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12028005\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A home in San José’s Olinder-McKinley neighborhood is shielded by a new 10-foot floodwall on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. Santa Clara Valley Water District announced the near completion of roughly 9,000 feet of new floodwalls in several areas of the city to protect against a 20-year flood risk. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong said the work being recognized this week is about more than just managing waterways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whenever we talk about the flood of 2017, when we talk about the impending doom of future potential floods, we see people and families. And that’s what it comes down to,” Duong said. “When floods happen time and time again, it is always the most vulnerable families, seniors on fixed incomes, families with small children, who are going to be suffering the most.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first phase of Valley Water’s project cost about $117 million, officials said, and the next phase, which would add about 17,000 more feet of walls, passive barriers and earthen berms, is estimated to cost $221 million.[aside postID=news_12024565 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/250129-SCCTURF-JG-3-1020x680.jpg']Robert Yamane, the lead project engineer, said the passive barriers will be made of aluminum interlocking structures that will lay flat until water levels rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s around park areas, so people can still get into the park, and it’s not blocking all lines of sight into the park,” Yamane said. “So they lie down flat, kind of adjacent to the sidewalks, and then they’ll float up and then lock into place with some struts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Hakes, chief operating officer of watersheds at Valley Water, said the water district attempted to plan a project in 2011 in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers that would have offered a significantly higher level of protection — enough to withstand a 100-year-flood — but the costs were too high in the view of the Corps, and the project was scrapped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said residents and business owners in the areas with the new walls have been patient and supportive of the current project, which has been a long time coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are many community members here who are breathing a little bit of a sigh of relief that this project is completing,” he said, “and they’re getting the protection that they’ve sought for a long time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nearly eight years to the day after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11788730/nearly-two-years-after-coyote-creek-floods-lawsuit-drags-on\">major flooding displaced thousands in San José\u003c/a>, officials on Thursday celebrated the completion of almost 9,000 feet of new floodwalls to help shield neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>South Bay leaders stood inside a newly enclosed patch of land in the city’s Olinder-McKinley neighborhood, highlighting one of seven areas between Highway 280 and Old Oakland Road that are now equipped with 10-foot steel walls, many encased in concrete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Eight years ago, residents of this neighborhood had to rush to leave their homes during the worst flooding in this area experienced since 1997,” Richard Santos, the vice chair of the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s Board of Directors, said during Thursday’s gathering. “This was a devastated area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The height and strength of the new barriers are meant to hold back heavy water flows during a 20-year flood event, a term used to refer to an intense flood that could happen once every 20 years or has a roughly 5% chance of happening in any given year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The walls represent the first phase of Valley Water’s Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project, which will ultimately cover several points across an eight-mile stretch along the creek between Montague Expressway and Tully Road in San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12028007\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12028007\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-4-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coyote Creek flows past the Olinder-McKinley neighborhood in San José, on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. The neighborhood was inundated in February 2017 during a major flood. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The project is also tied to a massive renovation and seismic retrofit underway at Anderson Dam in Morgan Hill, which could increase the flows into Coyote Creek when storm surges occur to stop the dam from overflowing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seven areas that were chosen for the first phase of walls are considered the most vulnerable to flooding because they are low-lying and are near sections of the creek where additional water would flow after a tunnel diversion portion of the dam upgrade is completed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials said the walls, which will vary slightly depending on where they are installed, can withstand a storm surge like the one seen on President’s Day weekend in 2017, when rushing waters overtopped the banks of Coyote Creek, overrunning parks, roads and homes, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11328162/san-jose-flooding-14000-told-to-evacuate\">triggering evacuation\u003c/a> orders or advisories for tens of thousands of people.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I think those of us who were living here in San José in 2017, we all have some sort of personal story,” Valley Water board member Shiloh Ballard said during the announcement. “We know someone, or we experienced it personally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of San José faced significant criticism in the days and months after the flood, including in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11612712/the-san-jose-flood-what-went-wrong-and-how-the-city-plans-to-fix-it\">report it commissioned\u003c/a> that gave the city an “F” for its level of foresight regarding the storm. The report also lambasted its late notification to many residents, some of whom received evacuation orders after floodwaters were already at their door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saraí Rojas, a resident of the Olinder-McKinley neighborhood, lives in an apartment near the creek and said she is happy to see the floodwalls largely completed near her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important work. I want to think it’s a good use of tax dollars … because, though I didn’t live here in 2017, I’ve seen the pictures and the extent of all the damage. I’m also a firm believer in climate change,” Rojas said. “So anything that we can do to kind of assuage those negative impacts, I’m all for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rojas has also received flood-ready pamphlets and information from the water district and said she tries to stay vigilant during wet weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12028005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12028005\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250220-SJFLOODWALLS-JG-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A home in San José’s Olinder-McKinley neighborhood is shielded by a new 10-foot floodwall on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. Santa Clara Valley Water District announced the near completion of roughly 9,000 feet of new floodwalls in several areas of the city to protect against a 20-year flood risk. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong said the work being recognized this week is about more than just managing waterways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whenever we talk about the flood of 2017, when we talk about the impending doom of future potential floods, we see people and families. And that’s what it comes down to,” Duong said. “When floods happen time and time again, it is always the most vulnerable families, seniors on fixed incomes, families with small children, who are going to be suffering the most.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first phase of Valley Water’s project cost about $117 million, officials said, and the next phase, which would add about 17,000 more feet of walls, passive barriers and earthen berms, is estimated to cost $221 million.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Robert Yamane, the lead project engineer, said the passive barriers will be made of aluminum interlocking structures that will lay flat until water levels rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s around park areas, so people can still get into the park, and it’s not blocking all lines of sight into the park,” Yamane said. “So they lie down flat, kind of adjacent to the sidewalks, and then they’ll float up and then lock into place with some struts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Hakes, chief operating officer of watersheds at Valley Water, said the water district attempted to plan a project in 2011 in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers that would have offered a significantly higher level of protection — enough to withstand a 100-year-flood — but the costs were too high in the view of the Corps, and the project was scrapped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said residents and business owners in the areas with the new walls have been patient and supportive of the current project, which has been a long time coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are many community members here who are breathing a little bit of a sigh of relief that this project is completing,” he said, “and they’re getting the protection that they’ve sought for a long time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 4:34 p.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heavy rain fell across the Bay Area Thursday morning and afternoon as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026803/one-of-the-years-strongest-storms-is-about-to-hit-the-bay-area\">one of the strongest atmospheric river storms of the year\u003c/a> hit California, causing highway flooding, power outages and a few landslides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service says the Santa Cruz Mountains have been hit the hardest, leading to a rare flash flood warning for parts of that region, and a minor flood watch for most of the Bay Area remains until Sunday as the rain recedes. But flood advisories are in effect for most of the Bay Area through 5:30 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve heard numerous reports of flooding from the East Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains and the North Bay,” said Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office. “There have been several landslides, but from here on out, we should see rain rates decrease.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As many as 10,000 PG&E customers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1950931/map-pge-power-outages\">are without power\u003c/a>, with the majority in the South Bay. One man was killed in an early morning crash west of Santa Cruz, but it was not immediately certain whether the rain was a factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dylan Flynn, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office, said the worst of the storm was expected before 10 a.m., though the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025860/trump-orders-and-atmospheric-rivers-how-prepared-are-californias-levees\">atmospheric river\u003c/a> will bring moderate to heavy rainfall and wind gusts over 50 mph across the Bay Area through Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/nwsbayarea/status/1890074097117536551?s=46&t=8L9OHVE58oUXKjH2wCBDtA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 1 and 3 inches of rain have fallen over the region so far. By the time the storm passes, the North Bay could receive up to 4 inches of rain, the Bay Area up to 3 inches and the Santa Cruz Mountains up to 6 inches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s pumping tropical moisture through the atmosphere directly at us; It’s like a fire hose,” Flynn said. “In terms of rainfall rates, this is about as heavy as it gets for us for atmospheric rivers. The only good news is that principal impacts only lasted about 12 hours.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arrival flights are experiencing delays at San Francisco International Airport by more than an hour because of winds, according to FlightAware. The website reports departures are delayed by nearly an hour and a half. Inbound flights are delayed at the origin by more than two hours due to the wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm has knocked over trees from Marin to Santa Cruz, including a large tree blocking Skyline Boulevard at Brandy Rock Way in Oakland’s Ridgemont neighborhood, according to an X post by the Oakland Fire Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/OaklandFireLive/status/1890140306768871698\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple roads are closed across Sonoma County and on major highways across the region near Oakland, San Mateo, Sunnyvale, Redwood City, Hercules, Vallejo, South San Francisco, San Carlos, Emeryville and Castro Valley, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Highways are sort of the canary in the coal mine of where we start to see flooding in the typical places and how flooding is likely to become more widespread from there,” Kennedy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evacuation orders have been lifted across Santa Cruz County. Evacuation orders covered Felton Grove residents living near the San Lorenzo River, as well as residents near Watsonville because of rising water levels in two local creeks: Corralitos and Salsipuedes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz County posted a video on Facebook showing the Corralitos Creek overflowing with brown, muddy water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/CHPscrz/status/1890091906086105334\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Soquel, Main Street above Bates Creek was closed due to a tree down with fallen wires, and a landslide and flooding shut down San Jose Road. Some roads were also closed in Watsonville and Interlaken, according to the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Israel Murillo, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol office in Santa Cruz, said that as the atmospheric river pounds the region, all available officers are working and gearing up for anything else the storm brings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had a vehicle that got stuck in the middle of the roadway because that individual chose to drive across flooded roads,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also said a man was killed around 4:20 a.m. on State Route 1 and Scaroni Road when he was hit by a truck. Murillo said he can’t at this point attribute the death to the rain, but it happened during the storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service is paying close attention to any notable rise in streams and major rivers, with the Russian River at Guerneville and the San Lorenzo River having the highest chances of going into flood stage. “San Lorenzo is of particular concern given the rain so far and how flashy that basin is. The river gauge is already reporting a sharp rise,” meteorologists wrote in the weather service’s morning forecast discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh said this atmospheric river mirrors a more significant trend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=science_1996145 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250210-SurferSewage-05-BL-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a trend towards the atmospheric river storms that make landfall getting warmer,” he said. “They’ll tend to produce more rainfall than snow, which creates runoff right away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that water is spilling into roadways, which is causing traffic issues, especially in the North Bay, said Sgt. Andrew Barclay, public information officer with the California Highway Patrol Golden Gate Division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re seeing flooding, we’re seeing debris, and we are seeing people that are driving too fast in those conditions that are losing control and spinning out,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, the weather service wrote in its most recent flood advisory that “downtown is the most likely place to experience minor flooding” and that on Thursday afternoon, “flooding may transpire, mainly in areas of hilly terrain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weather service forecasts high surf with waves up 45 to feet through Saturday and has issued a flood watch through Saturday evening for the entire Bay Area and Central Coast, except for regions south of Hollister. Heavy rainfall may also continue to cause landslides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the rain and wind grabs everybody’s attention, the most deadly weather we have here in the Bay Area is high surf and people getting swept out to sea,” Flynn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flynn said scattered showers will pick up Thursday afternoon with a chance of thunderstorms, but the rain will be spottier than what happened overnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By Friday afternoon, the sun will make a triumphant return, and the rain will stop,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meteorologists expect a weaker storm to move through the region Sunday, with light rain focused on the North Bay. Forecasters wrote that the long-range discussion for the rest of the month is “split, but the majority of solutions point to a much drier second half of February as our roller-coaster rainy season continues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqednews.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=a04a97b02e764b5e94905acaaecf2edc\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A strong storm hitting California has caused highway flooding, power outages and a few landslides across the Bay Area, with the Santa Cruz Mountains hit the hardest.",
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"title": "Bay Area Hit by Heavy Rain, Flooding and Landslides; Thousands Without Power | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 4:34 p.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heavy rain fell across the Bay Area Thursday morning and afternoon as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026803/one-of-the-years-strongest-storms-is-about-to-hit-the-bay-area\">one of the strongest atmospheric river storms of the year\u003c/a> hit California, causing highway flooding, power outages and a few landslides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service says the Santa Cruz Mountains have been hit the hardest, leading to a rare flash flood warning for parts of that region, and a minor flood watch for most of the Bay Area remains until Sunday as the rain recedes. But flood advisories are in effect for most of the Bay Area through 5:30 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve heard numerous reports of flooding from the East Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains and the North Bay,” said Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office. “There have been several landslides, but from here on out, we should see rain rates decrease.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As many as 10,000 PG&E customers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1950931/map-pge-power-outages\">are without power\u003c/a>, with the majority in the South Bay. One man was killed in an early morning crash west of Santa Cruz, but it was not immediately certain whether the rain was a factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dylan Flynn, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office, said the worst of the storm was expected before 10 a.m., though the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025860/trump-orders-and-atmospheric-rivers-how-prepared-are-californias-levees\">atmospheric river\u003c/a> will bring moderate to heavy rainfall and wind gusts over 50 mph across the Bay Area through Friday morning.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Between 1 and 3 inches of rain have fallen over the region so far. By the time the storm passes, the North Bay could receive up to 4 inches of rain, the Bay Area up to 3 inches and the Santa Cruz Mountains up to 6 inches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s pumping tropical moisture through the atmosphere directly at us; It’s like a fire hose,” Flynn said. “In terms of rainfall rates, this is about as heavy as it gets for us for atmospheric rivers. The only good news is that principal impacts only lasted about 12 hours.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arrival flights are experiencing delays at San Francisco International Airport by more than an hour because of winds, according to FlightAware. The website reports departures are delayed by nearly an hour and a half. Inbound flights are delayed at the origin by more than two hours due to the wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm has knocked over trees from Marin to Santa Cruz, including a large tree blocking Skyline Boulevard at Brandy Rock Way in Oakland’s Ridgemont neighborhood, according to an X post by the Oakland Fire Department.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Multiple roads are closed across Sonoma County and on major highways across the region near Oakland, San Mateo, Sunnyvale, Redwood City, Hercules, Vallejo, South San Francisco, San Carlos, Emeryville and Castro Valley, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Highways are sort of the canary in the coal mine of where we start to see flooding in the typical places and how flooding is likely to become more widespread from there,” Kennedy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evacuation orders have been lifted across Santa Cruz County. Evacuation orders covered Felton Grove residents living near the San Lorenzo River, as well as residents near Watsonville because of rising water levels in two local creeks: Corralitos and Salsipuedes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz County posted a video on Facebook showing the Corralitos Creek overflowing with brown, muddy water.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>In Soquel, Main Street above Bates Creek was closed due to a tree down with fallen wires, and a landslide and flooding shut down San Jose Road. Some roads were also closed in Watsonville and Interlaken, according to the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Israel Murillo, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol office in Santa Cruz, said that as the atmospheric river pounds the region, all available officers are working and gearing up for anything else the storm brings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had a vehicle that got stuck in the middle of the roadway because that individual chose to drive across flooded roads,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also said a man was killed around 4:20 a.m. on State Route 1 and Scaroni Road when he was hit by a truck. Murillo said he can’t at this point attribute the death to the rain, but it happened during the storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service is paying close attention to any notable rise in streams and major rivers, with the Russian River at Guerneville and the San Lorenzo River having the highest chances of going into flood stage. “San Lorenzo is of particular concern given the rain so far and how flashy that basin is. The river gauge is already reporting a sharp rise,” meteorologists wrote in the weather service’s morning forecast discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh said this atmospheric river mirrors a more significant trend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a trend towards the atmospheric river storms that make landfall getting warmer,” he said. “They’ll tend to produce more rainfall than snow, which creates runoff right away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that water is spilling into roadways, which is causing traffic issues, especially in the North Bay, said Sgt. Andrew Barclay, public information officer with the California Highway Patrol Golden Gate Division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re seeing flooding, we’re seeing debris, and we are seeing people that are driving too fast in those conditions that are losing control and spinning out,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, the weather service wrote in its most recent flood advisory that “downtown is the most likely place to experience minor flooding” and that on Thursday afternoon, “flooding may transpire, mainly in areas of hilly terrain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weather service forecasts high surf with waves up 45 to feet through Saturday and has issued a flood watch through Saturday evening for the entire Bay Area and Central Coast, except for regions south of Hollister. Heavy rainfall may also continue to cause landslides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the rain and wind grabs everybody’s attention, the most deadly weather we have here in the Bay Area is high surf and people getting swept out to sea,” Flynn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flynn said scattered showers will pick up Thursday afternoon with a chance of thunderstorms, but the rain will be spottier than what happened overnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By Friday afternoon, the sun will make a triumphant return, and the rain will stop,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meteorologists expect a weaker storm to move through the region Sunday, with light rain focused on the North Bay. Forecasters wrote that the long-range discussion for the rest of the month is “split, but the majority of solutions point to a much drier second half of February as our roller-coaster rainy season continues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://kqednews.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=a04a97b02e764b5e94905acaaecf2edc\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "storm-linked-2-sonoma-county-deaths-another-round-rain-hits-bay-area",
"title": "Storm Linked to 2 Sonoma County Deaths as Another Round of Rain Hits Bay Area",
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"headTitle": "Storm Linked to 2 Sonoma County Deaths as Another Round of Rain Hits Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Two storm-related deaths were reported in Sonoma County in the last 24 hours \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025777/north-bay-rivers-flood-after-storm-little-time-prepare-next-round-rain\">as rivers swelled\u003c/a> and another round of rain moved in, authorities said Thursday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, deputies and firefighters responded to a report of a person dead in a culvert on the 7700 block of Franz Valley Road in Santa Rosa, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/sonomasheriff/posts/pfbid0351U5AezHNj91ZMQU55zmPQBHKN4Jjp1Tk7w41iqeG73JZ6YooS51FS3mW7G9mCcal\">said in a social media post\u003c/a>. Fire personnel from the Northern Sonoma County Fire District removed his body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 7 a.m. Thursday, deputies working with firefighters and the California National Guard recovered another body from the 5800 block of Hall Road in Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither man’s identity was released pending notification of family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deaths were reported as another round of showers began to soak the Bay Area on Thursday, raising the risk of further flooding and landslides, particularly in the North Bay, where all schools in the Guerneville School District remained closed, and some homes in Santa Rosa and nearby areas were evacuated Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Russian River and a few central Sonoma County creeks reached moderate flood levels on Wednesday morning, the Russian River at Guerneville had receded to the lower end of the minor flood zone when the rain began around 7 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11723283\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11723283\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/02/GettyImages-631415386-e1549313950719.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cars drive on a flooded road in Guerneville in January 2017. The Russian River town is just downstream from Venado, a site in the northern Sonoma County hills that is one of the rainiest locations in California. On Tuesday, at least one school in Guerneville closed because of the storm, and Sonoma County alerted residents in multiple RV parks along the Russian River and creeks that flow into the waterway that flooding may occur. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Water levels are expected to continue to decrease throughout the day since the North Bay — which was hit hardest by the previous two storms — is expected to get just about an inch of rain while the East Bay and San Francisco pick up about a half-inch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm won’t rival those \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025572/storm-stalls-over-bay-area-raising-risk-flooding-potential-tornado-warning\">earlier in the week\u003c/a>, but it could bring another inch or a few of rainfall and gusty winds up to 55 miles per hour as it sweeps over Northern California throughout the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12025777 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-RainStorm-01-BL-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/national-weather-service\">National Weather Service\u003c/a> is forecasting consistent precipitation throughout the day, trailing off late Thursday night. While showers should be moderate, meteorologist Roger Gass said there’s a slight thunderstorm risk in the afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would say there’s anywhere from 10%–15% [chance], so not very significant, but I wouldn’t rule out a rumble of thunder here and there,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The South Bay could see the highest rainfall totals from Thursday’s storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest winners are going to be in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia range, where we could see up to about 4 to 4 ½ inches,” Gass said. “In the Santa Cruz mountains, anywhere from 2 to 3 [inches].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Winds could reach up to 50 mph at lower elevations, picking up in the afternoon and evening, and stronger gusts could hit higher elevation areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weekend forecast looks clear, and there’s a 90%–100% chance of fresh snow in the Sierra for the ski-bound.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next week, the National Weather Service expects a return of rain and unsettled conditions, which could last through most of the work week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Two storm-related deaths were reported around Santa Rosa in the last 24 hours as rivers swelled and another round of rain moved in, authorities said Thursday morning.",
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"headline": "Storm Linked to 2 Sonoma County Deaths as Another Round of Rain Hits Bay Area",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Two storm-related deaths were reported in Sonoma County in the last 24 hours \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025777/north-bay-rivers-flood-after-storm-little-time-prepare-next-round-rain\">as rivers swelled\u003c/a> and another round of rain moved in, authorities said Thursday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, deputies and firefighters responded to a report of a person dead in a culvert on the 7700 block of Franz Valley Road in Santa Rosa, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/sonomasheriff/posts/pfbid0351U5AezHNj91ZMQU55zmPQBHKN4Jjp1Tk7w41iqeG73JZ6YooS51FS3mW7G9mCcal\">said in a social media post\u003c/a>. Fire personnel from the Northern Sonoma County Fire District removed his body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 7 a.m. Thursday, deputies working with firefighters and the California National Guard recovered another body from the 5800 block of Hall Road in Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither man’s identity was released pending notification of family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deaths were reported as another round of showers began to soak the Bay Area on Thursday, raising the risk of further flooding and landslides, particularly in the North Bay, where all schools in the Guerneville School District remained closed, and some homes in Santa Rosa and nearby areas were evacuated Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Russian River and a few central Sonoma County creeks reached moderate flood levels on Wednesday morning, the Russian River at Guerneville had receded to the lower end of the minor flood zone when the rain began around 7 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11723283\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11723283\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/02/GettyImages-631415386-e1549313950719.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cars drive on a flooded road in Guerneville in January 2017. The Russian River town is just downstream from Venado, a site in the northern Sonoma County hills that is one of the rainiest locations in California. On Tuesday, at least one school in Guerneville closed because of the storm, and Sonoma County alerted residents in multiple RV parks along the Russian River and creeks that flow into the waterway that flooding may occur. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Water levels are expected to continue to decrease throughout the day since the North Bay — which was hit hardest by the previous two storms — is expected to get just about an inch of rain while the East Bay and San Francisco pick up about a half-inch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm won’t rival those \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025572/storm-stalls-over-bay-area-raising-risk-flooding-potential-tornado-warning\">earlier in the week\u003c/a>, but it could bring another inch or a few of rainfall and gusty winds up to 55 miles per hour as it sweeps over Northern California throughout the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/national-weather-service\">National Weather Service\u003c/a> is forecasting consistent precipitation throughout the day, trailing off late Thursday night. While showers should be moderate, meteorologist Roger Gass said there’s a slight thunderstorm risk in the afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would say there’s anywhere from 10%–15% [chance], so not very significant, but I wouldn’t rule out a rumble of thunder here and there,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The South Bay could see the highest rainfall totals from Thursday’s storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest winners are going to be in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia range, where we could see up to about 4 to 4 ½ inches,” Gass said. “In the Santa Cruz mountains, anywhere from 2 to 3 [inches].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Winds could reach up to 50 mph at lower elevations, picking up in the afternoon and evening, and stronger gusts could hit higher elevation areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weekend forecast looks clear, and there’s a 90%–100% chance of fresh snow in the Sierra for the ski-bound.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next week, the National Weather Service expects a return of rain and unsettled conditions, which could last through most of the work week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "trump-orders-and-atmospheric-rivers-how-prepared-are-californias-levees",
"title": "Trump Orders and Atmospheric Rivers: How Prepared Are California's Levees?",
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"headTitle": "Trump Orders and Atmospheric Rivers: How Prepared Are California’s Levees? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>First, there was President Trump’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12023248/trump-again-wades-into-california-water-use-fight-drawing-skepticism-from-experts\">executive order\u003c/a> to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in the Central Valley, a move the Feds walked back after farmers and water experts decried it as \u003ca href=\"https://sjvwater.org/decision-to-dump-water-from-tulare-county-lakes-altered-after-sending-locals-in-mad-scramble/\">wasteful\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://abc30.com/post/central-california-farmers-raise-concerns-trump-orders-dam-water-release/15862080/\">ill-conceived\u003c/a> — and an unnecessary risk factor for levees in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mandate, said Nicholas Pinter, a professor of applied geoscience at UC Davis who studies California’s levees, amounted to “hydrologic insanity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The volume they were initially starting to release and the lack of warning to local officials — it’s hard to characterize it as anything but insane,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then came this week’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1935067/rivers-in-the-sky-what-you-need-to-know-about-atmospheric-river-storms\">atmospheric rivers\u003c/a>, which keep people like Pinter on watch during California’s rainy season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the condition of California’s levees is, by and large, already precarious. In its \u003ca href=\"https://infrastructurereportcard.org/state-item/california/\">2019 infrastructure report card\u003c/a>, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the state’s levees a ‘D,’ citing that despite significant investments, much more work is needed to rehabilitate and improve them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025777/north-bay-rivers-flood-after-storm-little-time-prepare-next-round-rain\">more rain in the forecast\u003c/a>, here’s what to know about California’s levees:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What are levees?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Levees are barriers constructed alongside rivers, streams and other waterways to prevent land and property from flooding, \u003ca href=\"https://levees.sec.usace.army.mil/levee-basics/what-is-a-levee/\">according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers\u003c/a>. Levees generally take the form of either an earthen embankment or a floodwall made of concrete or other materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Levees are different from dams, which are built across waterways to hold back and collect water in reservoirs. When water is released from a reservoir, it can put levees downstream to the test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=science_1981900]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the consequences of levee failure happen fast. By some accounts, \u003ca href=\"https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/15429/hurricane-katrina-floods-the-southeastern-united-states\">80% of New Orleans was flooded\u003c/a> by Hurricane Katrina in 2004 due to levee breaches, with water depths reaching \u003ca href=\"https://nola.gov/nola/media/Safety-and-Permits/floodplain-management/Extent-Depth-of-Flooding-Katrina.pdf\">7 feet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, levees are managed by a patchwork of federal, state and local agencies, as well as by private landowners. This means that information about the condition of levees across the state can be difficult to find.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some levees were simply built haphazardly and aren’t easily found on any map or database, let alone information about their quality and current condition,” said Ann Willis, California’s regional director of American Rivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of the major players in levee management in the Golden State are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has a hand in managing approximately 2,300 miles of California levees, and the state, which manages about 1,550 miles of levees, mostly in the Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12025921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12025921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A construction project to stabilize and add height to the Pajaro levee takes place on Aug. 20, 2024, after a breach in the levee flooded the community of Pajaro in 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Army Corps’ National Levee Database contains information on over 1,600 federal, state and local levees in California and paints a picture of the communities those structures protect: more than 5 million Californians live behind levees, which protect about 3,000 “critical structures,” like schools, fire stations and electric substations and about 750,000 acres of agricultural land.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How safe are levees?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While levees are a common part of California’s infrastructure, Willis said it’s important to remember that at the end of the day, they’re just human-made structures trying to hold back a powerful force of nature, whether that’s an atmospheric river or 2 billion gallons released from reservoirs with little warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That doesn’t mean all levees are on the brink of collapse, Willis said, but it’s a cause for ongoing and increasing concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are certainly areas where work and maintenance is being done to strengthen the levee system,” she said. “But that is really more of an exception. And this problem is really not going away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12023248]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trouble is, most people don’t know it. “I think people see a levee and assume that they have a level of flood protection that doesn’t exist,” she said. “Levees aren’t a guarantee. The best protection is to not be in the floodplain in the first place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though the Central Valley’s levees seem to have withstood the water that flowed after Trump’s surprise executive order, the brief surge put stress on an already precarious system, Willis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The decision to release this much water this quickly,” she said, “increased the flood risk of the communities that the Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with protecting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Pinter put it, “That risk never goes away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California saw the consequences of that risk in 2023, when a levee along the Pajaro River that was decades overdue for maintenance \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11944295/were-survivors-scenes-from-pajaro-after-the-water-finally-receded\">failed during a winter storm\u003c/a>, flooding a Monterey County community that housed a vulnerable farmworker community of about 1,200.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, winter storms \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2023-03-22/officials-keep-eye-on-corcorans-levee-as-water-fills-tulare-lake\">threatened to breach a levee in the Central Valley town of Corcoran\u003c/a>, which would have put the city of about 22,000 underwater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=science_1994168]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These recent levee failures point to a growing concern in California: as climate change brings more intense storms, the state’s levees are not prepared to handle them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no infrastructure that was built for a climate-changed future,” Willis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the bright side, Pinter noted, things have started to improve: “There is awareness in California that there was not 20 years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who is most at risk?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Nationwide, a disproportionate number of people of color, people with less education and people living in poverty live behind levees, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023EF003619\">2023 study by the American Geophysical Union\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study found that Hispanic people were the most overrepresented group living behind levees nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, this frequently means that low-income people, migrant farmworkers and undocumented people are disproportionately impacted, according to Michael Méndez, assistant professor of environmental policy and planning at UC Irvine. Many of those at risk are in the Central Valley, where hundreds of levees protect farmland and agricultural workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our communities that are low income are not able to prepare or safeguard from these disasters because they’re not being provided with adequate resources to do so,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are some of the most disenfranchised and stigmatized populations that are seen as being less worthy of infrastructure, resilience and upgrading,” he said. “It doesn’t happen by accident or by coincidence that time and time again, the same communities are being hurt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "First, President Trump's order to release water from two California dams raised concerns about flooding. Then came atmospheric rivers. Are California’s levees up to the task?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>First, there was President Trump’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12023248/trump-again-wades-into-california-water-use-fight-drawing-skepticism-from-experts\">executive order\u003c/a> to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in the Central Valley, a move the Feds walked back after farmers and water experts decried it as \u003ca href=\"https://sjvwater.org/decision-to-dump-water-from-tulare-county-lakes-altered-after-sending-locals-in-mad-scramble/\">wasteful\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://abc30.com/post/central-california-farmers-raise-concerns-trump-orders-dam-water-release/15862080/\">ill-conceived\u003c/a> — and an unnecessary risk factor for levees in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mandate, said Nicholas Pinter, a professor of applied geoscience at UC Davis who studies California’s levees, amounted to “hydrologic insanity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The volume they were initially starting to release and the lack of warning to local officials — it’s hard to characterize it as anything but insane,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then came this week’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1935067/rivers-in-the-sky-what-you-need-to-know-about-atmospheric-river-storms\">atmospheric rivers\u003c/a>, which keep people like Pinter on watch during California’s rainy season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the condition of California’s levees is, by and large, already precarious. In its \u003ca href=\"https://infrastructurereportcard.org/state-item/california/\">2019 infrastructure report card\u003c/a>, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the state’s levees a ‘D,’ citing that despite significant investments, much more work is needed to rehabilitate and improve them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025777/north-bay-rivers-flood-after-storm-little-time-prepare-next-round-rain\">more rain in the forecast\u003c/a>, here’s what to know about California’s levees:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What are levees?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Levees are barriers constructed alongside rivers, streams and other waterways to prevent land and property from flooding, \u003ca href=\"https://levees.sec.usace.army.mil/levee-basics/what-is-a-levee/\">according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers\u003c/a>. Levees generally take the form of either an earthen embankment or a floodwall made of concrete or other materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Levees are different from dams, which are built across waterways to hold back and collect water in reservoirs. When water is released from a reservoir, it can put levees downstream to the test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the consequences of levee failure happen fast. By some accounts, \u003ca href=\"https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/15429/hurricane-katrina-floods-the-southeastern-united-states\">80% of New Orleans was flooded\u003c/a> by Hurricane Katrina in 2004 due to levee breaches, with water depths reaching \u003ca href=\"https://nola.gov/nola/media/Safety-and-Permits/floodplain-management/Extent-Depth-of-Flooding-Katrina.pdf\">7 feet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, levees are managed by a patchwork of federal, state and local agencies, as well as by private landowners. This means that information about the condition of levees across the state can be difficult to find.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some levees were simply built haphazardly and aren’t easily found on any map or database, let alone information about their quality and current condition,” said Ann Willis, California’s regional director of American Rivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of the major players in levee management in the Golden State are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has a hand in managing approximately 2,300 miles of California levees, and the state, which manages about 1,550 miles of levees, mostly in the Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12025921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12025921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/240820-PajaroFolo-49-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A construction project to stabilize and add height to the Pajaro levee takes place on Aug. 20, 2024, after a breach in the levee flooded the community of Pajaro in 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Army Corps’ National Levee Database contains information on over 1,600 federal, state and local levees in California and paints a picture of the communities those structures protect: more than 5 million Californians live behind levees, which protect about 3,000 “critical structures,” like schools, fire stations and electric substations and about 750,000 acres of agricultural land.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How safe are levees?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While levees are a common part of California’s infrastructure, Willis said it’s important to remember that at the end of the day, they’re just human-made structures trying to hold back a powerful force of nature, whether that’s an atmospheric river or 2 billion gallons released from reservoirs with little warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That doesn’t mean all levees are on the brink of collapse, Willis said, but it’s a cause for ongoing and increasing concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are certainly areas where work and maintenance is being done to strengthen the levee system,” she said. “But that is really more of an exception. And this problem is really not going away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trouble is, most people don’t know it. “I think people see a levee and assume that they have a level of flood protection that doesn’t exist,” she said. “Levees aren’t a guarantee. The best protection is to not be in the floodplain in the first place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though the Central Valley’s levees seem to have withstood the water that flowed after Trump’s surprise executive order, the brief surge put stress on an already precarious system, Willis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The decision to release this much water this quickly,” she said, “increased the flood risk of the communities that the Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with protecting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Pinter put it, “That risk never goes away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California saw the consequences of that risk in 2023, when a levee along the Pajaro River that was decades overdue for maintenance \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11944295/were-survivors-scenes-from-pajaro-after-the-water-finally-receded\">failed during a winter storm\u003c/a>, flooding a Monterey County community that housed a vulnerable farmworker community of about 1,200.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, winter storms \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2023-03-22/officials-keep-eye-on-corcorans-levee-as-water-fills-tulare-lake\">threatened to breach a levee in the Central Valley town of Corcoran\u003c/a>, which would have put the city of about 22,000 underwater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These recent levee failures point to a growing concern in California: as climate change brings more intense storms, the state’s levees are not prepared to handle them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no infrastructure that was built for a climate-changed future,” Willis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the bright side, Pinter noted, things have started to improve: “There is awareness in California that there was not 20 years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who is most at risk?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Nationwide, a disproportionate number of people of color, people with less education and people living in poverty live behind levees, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023EF003619\">2023 study by the American Geophysical Union\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study found that Hispanic people were the most overrepresented group living behind levees nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, this frequently means that low-income people, migrant farmworkers and undocumented people are disproportionately impacted, according to Michael Méndez, assistant professor of environmental policy and planning at UC Irvine. Many of those at risk are in the Central Valley, where hundreds of levees protect farmland and agricultural workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our communities that are low income are not able to prepare or safeguard from these disasters because they’re not being provided with adequate resources to do so,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are some of the most disenfranchised and stigmatized populations that are seen as being less worthy of infrastructure, resilience and upgrading,” he said. “It doesn’t happen by accident or by coincidence that time and time again, the same communities are being hurt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Atmospheric Rivers to Deliver ‘One-Two Punch’ of Strong Bay Area Rain, Sierra Snow",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 1:25 p.m. Monday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After days of wet weather, two more \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025049/bay-area-flood-watch-as-atmospheric-rivers-bring-heavy-rain-and-rising-river-levels\">atmospheric rivers\u003c/a> are forecast to drop heavy rain on Northern California this week, increasing flood potential in the Bay Area starting Monday and blanketing the Sierra Nevada with several feet of snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meteorologists expect the first storm to deliver two rounds of rain starting Monday afternoon and potentially stalling over the Bay Area on Tuesday morning. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/national-weather-service\">National Weather Service\u003c/a> has issued a flood watch from 4 p.m. Monday to 4 a.m. Wednesday and a flood advisory is also in effect until 8:45 p.m. Monday for the area west of Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a 15% chance that excessive rainfall could cause flash flooding in the North Bay and a 5% chance for the rest of the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now that the soils are saturated from this weekend’s rain event, we will probably get some flooding on roadway systems,” said Ryan Walbrun, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm could bring gusts up to 50 mph at higher elevations and along the coast, especially around Marin and the San Francisco peninsula. The weather service’s morning memo suggests the winds will “be more isolated in nature” and “short-lived.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12016881\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12016881\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001.jpg\" alt=\"People look out over the ocean.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People watch for a tsunami at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It looks like the winds are going to be strongest in [locations like] Ocean Beach in San Francisco along the Great Highway all the way down south through Santa Cruz and Monterey,” Walbrun said. “Those places would be most prone to power outages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next atmospheric river is expected to bring a weaker storm by Thursday and Friday before drier conditions return this weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters said the North Bay could receive as much as 6 inches of rain by the end of the week, and the rest of the Bay Area could expect up to 4 inches. The highest elevations in Sonoma County and Santa Cruz mountain areas could see up to 10 inches of rain in locations like Venado north of Guerneville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12023983 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/250120-YouthClimateProtest-09-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest risk right now would probably be in the North Bay in places that are typically pretty flood-prone,” Walbrun said. “The atmospheric river will spend more time over the North Bay, but the system is not nearly as wet or strong as the November event,” which caused record-breaking flooding in parts of Sonoma County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Will Powers, fire inspector for the city of Santa Rosa, said the city is prepared with sandbags for residents in low-lying areas, but the larger concern is downed trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the soil saturation that we’ve had, the big worry is with the wind coming in and downed trees,” Powers said. “As of right now, we’re not worried about major flooding, but more nuisance flooding and stuff like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone who lives in a flood-prone area should prepare to take action in case flooding occurs, Walbrun said. The weather service is monitoring several waterways that could reach flood thresholds this week: the Russian River, the Napa River, the San Lorenzo River, the Laguna de Santa Rosa, and Mark West Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, they aren’t forecast to go into flood stages because I don’t think the rain rates are there,” Walbrun said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A one-two punch of winter weather’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Forecasters say the cold systems will also bring rain and moderate to heavy snow across the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re expecting a one-two punch of winter weather,” said Matthew Chyba, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Reno office. “If you’re \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11937204/lake-tahoe-weather-forecast-road-conditions-snow-chains\">traveling to the Tahoe area\u003c/a>, Wednesday might be your best bet, or wait until the weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12018143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12018143\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Heavenly gondola of Heavenly ski resort in South Lake Tahoe, California, on Jan. 14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada could see up to 5 feet of snow by the end of the week. The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for the Sierra Nevada from Shasta County to Tahoe. The warnings vary slightly, but most start Monday at 10 a.m. and last through Wednesday at 10 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are expecting near whiteout conditions, and we are highly discouraging travel during the time of the warning,” said Sara Purdue, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Sacramento office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After around a month without snow, ski resorts like Palisades Tahoe are ecstatic about the back-to-back storms. Maddy Condon, senior communications specialist at Palisades Tahoe, said nearly 4 feet of snow could fall on the resort west of Lake Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a bit like Groundhog Day here in January,” Condon said. “It’s a playground out there. So when fresh snow comes, all the features and everything you can usually ride changes, creating a different experience every time. That’s why it’s always so fun to have dynamic weather come in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters expect a drying-out period this weekend but said there are signals that the second half of February could return to wet weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Towards the end of the month, we could get more storms, which is what we expect in February, especially \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024774/bay-areas-dry-january-ending-with-pair-atmospheric-river-storms\">after a very dry January\u003c/a>,” Walbrun said. “We’re at the point where we want to get a little bit of rain here, too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "After days of wet weather, two more atmospheric rivers are forecast to drop heavy rain on Northern California this week, increasing flood potential and bringing snow to the mountains.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 1:25 p.m. Monday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After days of wet weather, two more \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025049/bay-area-flood-watch-as-atmospheric-rivers-bring-heavy-rain-and-rising-river-levels\">atmospheric rivers\u003c/a> are forecast to drop heavy rain on Northern California this week, increasing flood potential in the Bay Area starting Monday and blanketing the Sierra Nevada with several feet of snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meteorologists expect the first storm to deliver two rounds of rain starting Monday afternoon and potentially stalling over the Bay Area on Tuesday morning. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/national-weather-service\">National Weather Service\u003c/a> has issued a flood watch from 4 p.m. Monday to 4 a.m. Wednesday and a flood advisory is also in effect until 8:45 p.m. Monday for the area west of Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a 15% chance that excessive rainfall could cause flash flooding in the North Bay and a 5% chance for the rest of the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now that the soils are saturated from this weekend’s rain event, we will probably get some flooding on roadway systems,” said Ryan Walbrun, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm could bring gusts up to 50 mph at higher elevations and along the coast, especially around Marin and the San Francisco peninsula. The weather service’s morning memo suggests the winds will “be more isolated in nature” and “short-lived.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12016881\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12016881\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001.jpg\" alt=\"People look out over the ocean.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241205-Tsunami-JY-001-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People watch for a tsunami at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It looks like the winds are going to be strongest in [locations like] Ocean Beach in San Francisco along the Great Highway all the way down south through Santa Cruz and Monterey,” Walbrun said. “Those places would be most prone to power outages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next atmospheric river is expected to bring a weaker storm by Thursday and Friday before drier conditions return this weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters said the North Bay could receive as much as 6 inches of rain by the end of the week, and the rest of the Bay Area could expect up to 4 inches. The highest elevations in Sonoma County and Santa Cruz mountain areas could see up to 10 inches of rain in locations like Venado north of Guerneville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest risk right now would probably be in the North Bay in places that are typically pretty flood-prone,” Walbrun said. “The atmospheric river will spend more time over the North Bay, but the system is not nearly as wet or strong as the November event,” which caused record-breaking flooding in parts of Sonoma County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Will Powers, fire inspector for the city of Santa Rosa, said the city is prepared with sandbags for residents in low-lying areas, but the larger concern is downed trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the soil saturation that we’ve had, the big worry is with the wind coming in and downed trees,” Powers said. “As of right now, we’re not worried about major flooding, but more nuisance flooding and stuff like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone who lives in a flood-prone area should prepare to take action in case flooding occurs, Walbrun said. The weather service is monitoring several waterways that could reach flood thresholds this week: the Russian River, the Napa River, the San Lorenzo River, the Laguna de Santa Rosa, and Mark West Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, they aren’t forecast to go into flood stages because I don’t think the rain rates are there,” Walbrun said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A one-two punch of winter weather’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Forecasters say the cold systems will also bring rain and moderate to heavy snow across the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re expecting a one-two punch of winter weather,” said Matthew Chyba, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Reno office. “If you’re \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11937204/lake-tahoe-weather-forecast-road-conditions-snow-chains\">traveling to the Tahoe area\u003c/a>, Wednesday might be your best bet, or wait until the weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12018143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12018143\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SouthLakeTahoeHeavenlySkiGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Heavenly gondola of Heavenly ski resort in South Lake Tahoe, California, on Jan. 14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada could see up to 5 feet of snow by the end of the week. The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for the Sierra Nevada from Shasta County to Tahoe. The warnings vary slightly, but most start Monday at 10 a.m. and last through Wednesday at 10 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are expecting near whiteout conditions, and we are highly discouraging travel during the time of the warning,” said Sara Purdue, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Sacramento office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After around a month without snow, ski resorts like Palisades Tahoe are ecstatic about the back-to-back storms. Maddy Condon, senior communications specialist at Palisades Tahoe, said nearly 4 feet of snow could fall on the resort west of Lake Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a bit like Groundhog Day here in January,” Condon said. “It’s a playground out there. So when fresh snow comes, all the features and everything you can usually ride changes, creating a different experience every time. That’s why it’s always so fun to have dynamic weather come in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters expect a drying-out period this weekend but said there are signals that the second half of February could return to wet weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Towards the end of the month, we could get more storms, which is what we expect in February, especially \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024774/bay-areas-dry-january-ending-with-pair-atmospheric-river-storms\">after a very dry January\u003c/a>,” Walbrun said. “We’re at the point where we want to get a little bit of rain here, too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"soldout": {
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"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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