SSJDD Property Abatement Program

The Central Valley Flood Protection Board (Board) has a duty to manage and control the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District (SSJDD) and to enforce standards for flood control works of authorized levee projects and adopted plans (Wat. Code Sections 8502 and 8608). These duties include maintenance, damage remediation, and debris accumulation disposal required due to human occupation. Human occupation on SSJDD property may result in encampments, illegal dumping, public safety risks  such as fires and biohazards, water quality impacts, presence of sharps and drug paraphernalia, and direct encounters  with unhoused individuals. The Board’s maintenance obligations extend to land owned by the SSJDD that are outside of a local maintaining agency’s flood operations and maintenance responsibilities as part of the State Plan of Flood Control. 

In response to Governor Newsom’s Executive Order, EO-7-24, to address encampments on state property, the Board adopted the SSJDD Property Abatement Policy on March 27, 2026 and continues to implement the SSJDD Property Abatement Program. This policy and program establishes a framework and reimbursable mechanism for the Board to partner with local agencies such as cities and counties for removal and legal disposal of debris and hazardous waste, on the Board’s behalf, on SSJDD owned property.  

Property abatement is necessary to maintain a safe, effective operating levee system to protect the public, property, and wildlife habitat.  A large part of this effort includes the humane removal of unhoused encampments near waterways and levees. 

The Board’s Abatement Policy outlines best practices for restoring these properties and providing respectful outreach for health and social services to assist unhoused encampment inhabitants. 

For more information regarding the SSJDD Property Abatement Program, please contact Cheryl Rowe at Cheryl.Rowe@cvflood.ca.gov or Jamie Silva at Jamie.Silva@cvflood.ca.gov.