Posted on 09/16/2005 9:35:46 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday joined Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, and other federal lawmakers in urging Congress to help California repair its aging system of levees.
Schwarzenegger, who is expected to announce today his bid for a full term as governor, wants an additional $90 million for levee repairs from a federal government that has a history of failing to show California the money.
The hope is to prevent a New Orleans-like disaster in the streets of Stockton and Sacramento.
"Many parts of our Central Valley have significantly lower levels of flood protection than similar areas in the nation," Schwarzenegger said. "To ensure the safety of our people, the well-being of our communities and the continued vitality of our economy, we need a comprehensive and sustained plan to protect our Central Valley and Delta levees."
Stockton, Lathrop and many other cities in the Central Valley stay dry because of earthen levees created a century ago by farmers piling up dirt against riverbanks.
Many aren't up to modern engineering standards, and all are at risk of failing.
One such failure in Yuba County cost state taxpayers $464 million in legal payouts. The state is liable for damage done by broken levees, even though local governments control what's built behind them.
Today, the state Reclamation Board is expected to approve a new policy recommending -- but not requiring -- that local governments improve weak levees protecting new development projects.
Legislation limiting such developments failed in the Assembly this summer.
The money Schwarzenegger is asking for represents a down payment on a $2 billion repair bill -- what the state Department of Water Resources has estimated a complete overhaul would cost.
Schwarzenegger's letter outlines 10 critical repair projects, most of which are in the Sacramento Valley, to get the $90 million. Raising Folsom Dam would get the most cash, at $24 million.
A massive Department of Water Resources study mapping weaknesses in the Delta's levees would get $3 million.
State Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman said officials are hopeful they can convince Congress to include the money in a special flood-relief bill intended to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to come through with $900 million in funds to help restore the Delta, although Pombo and Sen. Dianne Feinstein have said they're working on it.
Chrisman said Katrina's aftermath, which flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, could finally open the money spigot.
"We've got to start getting ahead of this," Chrisman said. "Katrina has helped people's awareness of this issue. We've got to keep pushing this."
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The money Schwarzenegger is asking for represents a down payment on a $2 billion repair bill -- what the state Department of Water Resources has estimated a complete overhaul would cost.
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Only 2 billion? Right.
There's $57 billion in the yearly Transportation Budget. Build roads on levees.
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