Central Valley Flood Protection Board

The Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB) is the State regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that appropriate standards are met for the construction, maintenance, and protection of the flood control system that protects life, property, and wildlife habitat in California’s vast and diverse Central Valley from the devastating effects of flooding. CVFPB issues encroachment permits and works with other agencies to improve the flood protection structures, enforces removal of problematic encroachments, and keeps watch over the Central Valley’s continually improving flood management system.

March 24, 2023 Board Meeting Agenda

2023 PUBLIC HOURS AND MEETING SCHEDULE

In accordance with the Governor’s order, the Board will continue to host hybrid meetings and workshops through 2023. Locations and access information for future meetings will be posted on our homepage and updated as needed.

Likewise, our office will remain open for business, but public counter hours are limited to appointments only. For public drop off of physical documents, including applications and fees, we can be contacted by phone or email as noted below to schedule a drop off.

Past recordings of meetings can be found on the CVFPB YouTube Channel
Background for agenda items is available electronically. Please email the Board Clerk at Ryan.Jones@CVFLOOD.CA.GOV to request an electronic copy of any agenda item.
We will continue to host our Board meetings, workshops, committee meetings and other programs as hybrid or virtual on an event-by-event basis. Please check our website for periodic updates

In addition:

Office hours are limited as most of our staff is working remotely. Thus, emailing us rather than calling our office with your questions is the best way to reach us. If you are currently working with a staff member on an item, please continue to contact that staff member. If you need general information, please contact the general mailbox at Questions@CVFlood.ca.gov.
We will be prioritizing permits based upon health and safety factors, including the availability of staff and partners, and application processing times may be extended during this period. Please bear with us as we work through this new system.

We appreciate your understanding during this situation.

We’re all in this together! Stay healthy and we’ll keep in touch with updates as we have them.

Jane Dolan
Board President

NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS

After 14 Atmospheric Rivers, How Full are California’s Reservoirs?

From KRON4 News – As wet weather has continued to impact California, some reservoirs across the state are being managed with scheduled releases of water to prevent flooding, according to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). After 14 atmospheric rivers hit back-to-back this winter, reservoirs began filling quickly. Though most of the major reservoirs aren’t full yet, several are significantly higher than they have been historically. This is especially true in Central California at the Don Pedro, Camanche and Oroville reservoirs.

Northern California

Video shared by DWR shows a large release of water from Lake Oroville down into the Feather River at a rate of 35,000 cubic feet per second. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working with downstream water operators to schedule releases in an effort to manage flood control. (more)

Ducks Unlimited’s California Projects Show Why Wetlands Can Help With Floods

From Ducks Unlimited – Before Californians built a network of levees and dams to keep cities from flooding, the rivers that formed the Central Valley each winter would spill out of their channels. In the wettest years, they’d flood to form a massive inland sea that stretched hundreds of miles from Redding to Bakersfield. In wet winters such as this one, those rivers keep trying to form that massive seasonal wetland again, testing the strength of the levees that protect communities built on the state’s floodplains. Along two of the state’s most flood-prone rivers, Ducks Unlimited has been working to create wetlands that use those natural flood patterns to create vital habitat for waterbirds and wildlife. The projects highlight why Californians should look to wetland expansion as one of the solutions to help reduce the risks from future floods. (more)

Sierra Snowpack Hits Record Levels After Recent Storms

From The Merced Sun-Star – The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains has reached record-breaking levels thanks to the deluge of snow smashing California this week. According to data from the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR), the Southern Sierras-from San Joaquin and Mono counties to Kern county-currently have a snowpack 257 percent greater than the average for this time of year, and 247 percent larger than is average for the usual snowpack peak on April 1. Central Sierra and Northern Sierra also have hugely inflated snowpacks, at 218 percent and 168 percent of the average for early March, respectively. TOP VIDEOS Top Videos 01:20 01:30 Merced courthouse named after legal scholar and civil rights attorney The Sierra Nevada Mountains stretch around 400 miles from Northern California southwards to the Great Basin. They have been buffeted by snowstorms as a result of the atmospheric river systems plowing eastwards from the Pacific Ocean, leaving thousands of people without power. “As of this weekend, the Southern Sierra now appears to have largest snowpack in recorded history (as measured by snow water equivalent, or SWE). Not just for the calendar date, but for *any* date!” tweeted Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the Nature Conservancy. (more)

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