News Release April 28, 2009 Two Pages Santa Maria River Levee ...
NEWS RELEASE
April 28, 2009
TWO PAGES
Santa Maria River Levee Receives $40.23 Million in Federal Funding
Today the City of Santa Maria was informed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will
make available $40.231 million for the Santa Maria River Levee repair project.
Combined with the previously approved $6.7 million for repairs, this means the project is
fully funded over its two-to-three-year construction period.
“This is just tremendous news for the City of Santa Maria,” Mayor Larry Lavagnino said,
after receiving the notification shortly before noon in a personal call from Rep. Lois
Capps. The Congresswoman earlier received a phone call from Col. Thomas Magness
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers informing her of this exciting announcement.
The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which
President Barack Obama signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009, to help in the recovery of
the U.S. economy.
“It is a wise use of Federal recovery funds because this project is shovel-ready and will
improve safety for tens of thousands of people in the Santa Maria Valley,” the Mayor
said. “This has been a top priority for the City, the Army Corps, and the County for
several years, and we look forward to construction commencing this fall. This project
will protect 20,000 parcels in the City and create hundreds of jobs.”
The $40.23 million in funding is in three phases of $9.031 million, $10.05 million and
$21.15 million. Combined with the $6.7 million already in-hand, the Army Corps is
ready to commence construction this fall. The Army Corps has presented a timeline
indicating this project will be completed in the summer of 2011.
Rep. Lois Capps, Rep. Elton Gallegy, and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara
Boxer all were supportive of the City and County’s efforts to obtain Federal funding to
repair the levee. The Mayor, Utilities Director Rick Sweet, and County Deputy Director
of Public Works Tom Fayram traveled to Washington, D.C. at least five times in the past
three years to meet with those respective elected officials. The City also engaged the
services of Greg Burns of Van Scoyoc Associates, who served very effectively as the
City’s legislative advocate.
“We are proud to have them as our elected representatives because they listened and
they acted,” the Mayor said. “I also want to give credit to Colonel Magness for his
leadership in making the Santa Maria River Levee his top priority.”
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An analysis of the levee system in 2006 concluded that the levee did not meet the
original design criteria at certain locations, and that does not meet the current rip rap
(rock) protection criteria at many locations. The design works when the river flows
parallel to the levee, but did not account for the angle of approach of meandering, lower
volume flows that chew away at the levee.
The levee was designed and built by the Army Corps of Engineers from 1959 to 1963
and is owned and operated by the County of Santa Barbara Department of Public
Works' Flood Control District. The City of Santa Maria does not own or operate or
maintain the levee.
The levee is built of river sand and extends for 17 miles along the south side of the
Santa Maria River from Fugler's Point to the Highway 1 Bridge. The levee also consists
of a 5-mile-long portion on the north side of the river, between the Highway 101 bridge
and the Highway 1 bridge. The levee provides flood protection to the Santa Maria
Valley and to the City of Santa Maria. The portion of the levee facing the river is
covered with a layer of protective rock.
Following the Hurricane Katrina Disaster in August 2005, the Army Corps of Engineers
began a systematic assessment of flood control structures and facilities throughout the
United States to measure their risk of potential failure. After its assessment of the
Santa Maria River Levee, in March 2006, the Army Corps of Engineers placed the
Santa Maria River Levee on the nationwide list of levees at risk of failure and declined
to certify that it could withstand a 100-year flood. Subsequent to that, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) then began preparing revised flood maps.
Preliminary results of FEMA's effort appears to place most of the City and a large
portion of the Santa Maria Valley in the 100-year flood zone which likely will lead to
mandatory flood insurance for thousands of property owners.
FEMA plans to release its final flood maps the summer of 2010. For more information
about the Levee project, visit the City’s webpage: http://www.ci.santa-
maria.ca.us/RiverLevee.shtml
Questions may be directed to Utilities Director Richard Sweet, at, 925-0951, ext. 7211.
Department:
Utilities
Contact Person:
Richard Sweet, Utilities Director
Telephone Number:
(805) 925-0951 ext. 7211
Email Address:
rsweet@ci.santa-maria.ca.us
