Central Valley Flood Protection Board

The Central Valley Flood Protection Board (Board) establishes, maintains, and enforces standards for the construction, maintenance, and operation of the flood control system to protect life, property, and habitat in California’s Central Valley. The Board coordinates State entities, local flood risk control agencies and the federal government to minimize damages from floods in California’s Central Valley and is the non-federal sponsor for federal flood control projects in the State Plan of Flood Control. The Board serves as a public forum for flood risk reduction policy in the Central Valley and is responsible for adopting updates to the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan every five years.


 

PUBLIC HOURS AND MEETING SCHEDULE

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

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.

  • With our new hybrid teleworking environment, most staff are only at our office location on Tuesdays each week. Administrative staff are available at the front desk Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 am – 3:00 pm. Appointments are required to meet with staff or receive in-person assistance at the front desk.  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.

  • Past recordings of Board meetings and workshops can be found on the CVFPB YouTube Channel

Jane Dolan
Board President

 

NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS

COMMENTARY: Investing now to keep Valley safe from megafloods

From Maven’s Notebook

By Senator Alvarado-Gil, Assemblyman Heath Flora, and Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria

We all know it. You shouldn’t wait to close the barn door until after the horse has bolted.  That’s an important lesson for Central Valley communities today. California didn’t experience floods this past winter like we did in 2023. But given that the legislature is writing a bond now, this is the time to speak up to keep our communities safe from catastrophic flooding in the future. A year and a half ago, the town of Planada was hit by a devastating flood. When a debris-clogged Miles Creek overflowed, the resulting flood hit like a gut-punch. UC Merced researchers found that 83 percent of all households suffered, and many lost everything. (more)

July 23: Sacramento River East Levee Project Presentation

 

From American Society of Civil Engineers

The Sacramento River East Levee (SREL), part of the American River Common Features (ARCF) 2016 Project, was executed by USACE under four different contracts. The project assumes significance due to its location and importance for public safety and asset protection. The first two contracts were supported by GEI and HDR who provided engineering during construction services related to civil and geotechnical engineering. The third and fourth contracts were supported by Kleinfelder and Stantec, which are the topic of this presentation. Contract 3 involved construction of 2 miles of seepage cutoff walls in the Pocket area in 2022 and Contract 4 involved construction of seepage cutoff walls at 4 separate locations in 2023 and 2024 from the Broadway Avenue area to the Freeport area. Contracts 3 and 4 flood protection features are intended to reduce the flooding risk to critical infrastructure in Sacramento, California. The project was constructed through a USACE Sacramento District contract. This presentation will summarize the contract design and construction stages. Various types of cutoff walls will be reviewed and design and construction challenges will be discussed. (more)

Restoration of Tidal wetlands of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta – Where are we at?

From California Water Blog

Tidal wetlands in the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta used to be vast. You may have seen artistic renditions of how the landscape may have looked with meandering channels weaving through a mosaic of land and water and with teaming wildlife. In fact, prior to European colonization, the Delta used to be a whole 95% tidal freshwater wetlands covered in tule and cattail vegetation, stewarded by a number of Indigenous Tribes. We know this historical landscape was forever changed when settlers forcibly removed Indigenous people and their stewardship practices from the landscape, and spent the subsequent hundred and fifty years diking and draining the wetlands to create farmland. In one of the most ambitious restoration efforts of the State, and to help reverse the ecological decline this transformation caused, a network of California State agencies, Federal agencies, private institutions, and non-governmental organizations have spent the last decade trying to restore some of these wetlands. (more)

More News & Highlights...

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New Board Member

Governor Newson Appoints New Central Valley Flood Protection Board Member, Betty Andrews

Governor Newsom appointed Elizabeth (Betty) Andrews, of Santa Rosa, to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board in June 2024. Betty has had more than thirty years’ experience in hydrology, hydraulics, flood management, floodplain and wetland restoration, and water resources management. She is a licensed engineer in the State of California and has operated a sole proprietorship since 2021. She held multiple roles at Environmental Science Associates (ESA) from 2010 to 2021, including Vice President/Principal Engineer and Project Director. Prior to ESA, Betty held multiple roles at Philip Williams and Associates, Ltd. from 1990 to 2010, including Principal, Project Manager, Staff Engineer and Chair of the Board of Directors. She was a Graduate Student Intern at the California Department of Water Resources from 1988 to 1989. Betty was Conservation Director of Friends of the River from 1981 to 1987. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Salmonid Restoration Federation and the Floodplain Management Association. Betty earned a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Davis and a Bachelor of Science degree in Technology and Human Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis.