A backlog of levee maintenance and a recent court ruling expanding the state’s liability for flood damage are creating an urgent need to re-examine and clarify the state’s role in flood control. ACWA’s Blueprint recommends that the Legislature consider measures to improve emergency response programs and provide funding to match local spending for flood control.

Background

With its feast-or-famine rainfall and varied topography, California has always been susceptible to more than its share of flooding. As the California Department of Water Resources noted in January 2005 report, “Flood Warnings,” factors such as aging infrastructure, escalating development in flood plains and lack of state and federal funding to maintain and improve the flood control system are putting public safety and the state’s financial stability at risk.

Devastating floods that submerged much of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina also have focused renewed attention on California’s aging levee system and what many see as the state’s growing vulnerability to a major flood event.

ACWA’s Recommendations

ACWA recommends the Legislature and state agencies take measures to accomplish the following actions:

• Improve emergency response programs, including improvements in monitoring and data collection from streams and flood-prone areas.

• Update floodplain maps and provide better education on flood risks to the public and agencies responsible for land use decisions.

• Support a constitutional amendment to exempt local flood control projects from inverse condemnation liability and to exempt local flood control districts from the Proposition 218 two-third voting requirements.

• Continue to promote multi-objective planning in flood control projects at the state and local levels, consistent with legislation adopted in 2000 (AB 1147 – Honda).

• Provide state funding subventions to match local flood control funding under the existing cost-sharing formula.

Other Recommendations

In addition to the flood control-related actions, ACWA recommends that state and federal leaders take a number of actions to ensure California can meet its future water needs.

• Improve the existing Delta water conveyance system to increase flexibility and enhance water supply, water quality, levee stability and environmental protection in the near term.

• Evaluate long-term threats to the Delta levee and conveyance system and pursue actions to reduce risks to the state’s water supply and the environment.

• Ensure delivery of adequate Colorado River supplies for Southern California and defend California’s rights on the Colorado River.

• Implement and fund the Sacramento Valley Water Management Program.

• Develop additional groundwater and surface water storage, including proposed surface storage projects now under study if they are determined to be feasible.

• Support and fund local efforts to expand recycled water use and implement best management practices for urban and agricultural water use efficiency.

• Improve the quality of California’s drinking water supplies to safeguard public health and enhance water quality for agriculture and the environment.

• Work with local agencies to overcome constraints to developing seawater and brackish groundwater desalination.

• Modernize the federal Endangered Species Act and other laws and regulations to allow water infrastructure projects, water supply and water quality activities to proceed while protecting species and habitats.

• Expedite the approval process for voluntary water transfers.

• Support integrated regional water management plans.

About the Blueprint

ACWA’s Blueprint reflects extensive input from hundreds of public water agencies charged with delivering water to cities, farms and communities throughout the state. In addition to the recommended actions, the Blueprint includes a detailed discussion of pressing regional needs and actions to help address them. For more on the Blueprint, see www.acwa.com.