FEMA Puts Sacramento Development on Hold
community, development, infrastructure, policy, water January 16th, 2008
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have put a hault on construction in the Natomas area of Sacramento due to flooding fears. The current levee system that surrounds this area has been deemed inadequate, and construction will only be allowed if built 20 feet above ground.
Sacramento is one of the most flood-prone cities, sitting at the confluence of the Sacramento and Animas rivers and below Folsom Lake. The Natomas region, currently home to 70,000 people, is a natural catch basin that was deemed safe by the Corps in 1998. Since then development of the area has been rapid.
The building moratorium is likely to last a few years, until solutions to the levee problem can be solved. In the meantime, residents of the area are being told to store valuables in their second stories, and to purchase flood insurance.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has an extensive website with details about the Natomas area, including maps and other records.
Posts
March 6th, 2008 at 11:05 am
[...] reported earlier on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) mapping of levees in San Joaquin County, [...]