The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will award $13 million to complete the construction of the Marysville Ring Levee Project, which encircles Marysville as well as major transportation corridors, and will provide protection against 200-year floods for the city.
The announcement was made Thursday by the office of U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, a Fairfield Democrat whose 3rd Congressional District includes Marysville. He is a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Water Resources Subcommittee.
An additional $1.5 billion was awarded to complete design and construction of the American River Common Features Project, which will provide 200-year level of protection for parts of Sutter and Sacramento counties.
Garamendi said in a news release that both of the projects are crucial for the safety of Sacramento Valley communities.
“Following the devastation of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, I reminded my colleagues here in Congress that much of Northern California is also just one big rain event away from catastrophic flooding,” he said in the news release. “As a result, the hurricane recovery bill passed by Congress also included funding for states like California that have had major flood events in the last few years.”
Garamendi said he applauds the Yuba County Water Agency for its efforts to advance the project.
“This is a remarkable development for improved flood protection for the people of Marysville,” said Curt Aikens, Yuba County Water Agency general manager.
Garamendi also said the American River Common Features Project will protect nearly 800,000 residents in the 3rd District, as well as residents in the 6th Congressional District, with 200-year level flood protection, as well as $7 billion in assets.
The funding for both projects was provided by House Resolution 1892, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which appropriated $15 billion to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for hurricane disaster recovery and proactive flood control projects.
“Marysville will have the highest level of protection anywhere in the Central Valley of California once the ring levee is completed,” said Tom Engler, project manager of the levee work with MBK Engineers, in a story published last month.
The state made it a requirement for all urban areas to have a 200-year level of flood protection – or a one-in-200 chance of flooding in any given year. Engler said Marysville and its 7.6 miles of ring levee will “far exceed” that mandate once work is completed.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Marysville Levee District and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board are in charge of the ring levee work.
This round of funding was appropriated to the corps earlier this year; it was up to their discretion, however, to determine which projects to fund and at what level.
