Public comment invited for draft update of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan

A draft update to the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan has been released by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB) for public review through March 31, 2017. The update emphasizes the need for long-term multi-benefit projects rather than single-purpose flood management projects which is consistent with Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s California Water Action Plan. Both the Plan and draft update include strategies to integrate and improve ecosystem functions with flood risk reduction projects.

The original plan was required by 2008 legislation.  Prepared by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) the flood protection plan was approved by CVFPB in 2012 as a blueprint to improve flood risk management in the Central Valley.  The 2008 legislation also requires DWR to update the plan every subsequent five years to, hence the 2017 update draft. The new plan is required to incorporate new information about flood management needs, advancements in the best available science, and new policy considerations.

Additionally, the new draft update includes a list of the state’s flood management investment activities since 2012. The state has invested approximately $20 million in regional flood management planning, flood risk reduction projects, operations and maintenance, floodplain risk management, and emergency response programs in recent years. A strategy for prioritizing the State’s proposed $21 billion investment in flood management over the next 30 years, along with itemized costs of these investments is included in the draft update.

The Central Valley is home to a region where approximately one million people live and work, and where more than $70 billion worth of vital infrastructure, commercial buildings and prime agriculture land are located making the updated draft flood protection plan a vital document. Comments on the draft update or draft SPEIR may be submitted by:

Postal mail or email to the addresses listed below:

California Department of Water Resources

Flood Planning Office

Attn: Michele Ng

3464 El Camino Avenue, Suite 200

Sacramento, CA  95821

Comments on the 2017 CVFPP Update:  [email protected]

In person, during one of five public outreach hearings scheduled across the Central Valley during February and March 2017:

• February 9, 2017, 6 to 8 p.m. – Marysville

Yuba County Government Center, BOS Chambers

915 8th Street, Marysville, CA 95901

• February 16, 2017, 6 to 8 p.m. – Merced

Merced Civic Center (Main Hall)

678 W. 18th Street, Merced, CA 95340

• February 24, 2017, 10 a.m. to Noon. – Sacramento

Sacramento City Hall, City Council Chambers

Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

(Regular Business meeting begins at 9:00 a.m.; Meeting to be webcast)

• March 9, 2017, 6 to 8 p.m. – Woodland

Woodland Community & Senior Center

2001 East Street, Woodland, CA 95776

• March 17, 2017, 10 a.m. to Noon. – Stockton

Robert J. Cabral Agricultural Center

2102 E. Earhart Avenue, Suite 100, Stockton, CA 95206

Hard copies of the draft update and draft SPEIR are available for review during normal business hours at eight locations across the Central Valley. Locations and addresses are listed on the CVFPB website at: http://cvfpb.ca.gov/cvfpp/.