From ENRCalifornia – For more than 60 years, California officials and experts have discussed expanding the Sacramento River bypass and levee system. The original system, designed in response to two floods in 1907 and 1909, was completed in 1955 and tested that year by its largest flood to date. Three more major floods, including the largest on record in 1986, demonstrated that more floodwater capacity and protection should be built into the system. In summer 2020, contractors broke ground on the first project to expand that capacity, the Lower Elkhorn Basin Levee Setback (LEBLS) project. The California Dept. of Water Resources is leading the design, construction and permitting of the $103-million project, which will widen the Sacramento Bypass and the east side of the Yolo Bypass. (more)