Rep. Thompson Secures $8.5 Million for West Sac Flood Control

Today, the House passed the FY 2008 “Energy and Water” appropriations bill, including $8.5 million for the West Sacramento Flood Control Project. The funding, championed by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), will be used to address deficiencies in the current levee design.

“The safety of West Sacramento's 43,000 residents depends on the city's levees,” said Thompson. “We learned a painful lesson from Hurricane Katrina about what happens when we wait too long to fix levee problems. This funding will be used to survey the levees, identify areas for improvement and make those improvements happen.”

The Sacramento urban area is widely recognized as being the most vulnerable to flooding of any urbanized area in the country with the exception of New Orleans. Five years ago, the Army Corps of Engineers planned, designed and constructed a project to provide the city flood protection. However, certain areas of the project have failed to perform during winter conditions and must be studied and remedied.

In addition to this funding, yesterday, West Sacramento property owners approved a $42 million assessment package for local flood protection.

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CONTACT: Anne Warden at (202) 225-3311, (703) 338-4480 or anne.warden@mail.house.gov.