California: Floodplain Restoration and Levee Resiliency Project

Severely disadvantaged community along the Sacramento River will implement a combination of nature-based solutions and levee hardening to protect the Grimes community and critical infrastructure from flooding, while also restoring riparian habitats and conserving endangered species.

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Sacramento River West Side Levee District, California: $18.92 Million

This is a Justice40 project.

History

The severely disadvantaged community (SDAC) of Grimes is located near the Sacramento River, on Highway 45 between Colusa and Knight's Landing in California. The 296 residents of Grimes largely work in agriculture and forestry, fishing, and hunting. The Cecil Ranch in Grimes is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Project Description

The SDAC of Grimes is protected from flooding by levees along the Sacramento River, however, recent geotechnical evaluations have determined the levees are at risk from catastrophic failure during high water events. Levee failure would lead to complete inundation of the town, and climate change is exacerbating this risk. This project proposes to mitigate these risks and build resiliency into the Grimes flood protection system through a combination of nature-based solutions and levee hardening. The nature-based solution element involves restoring much of the Sacramento River floodplain’s riparian habitat and reducing river erosive forces on the levee by reconnecting the floodplain.

This project will also protect critical infrastructure within Grimes, including portions of State Route 45, a United States Post Office, and local roads. This project also enhances community lifelines by increasing community safety and resiliency from flooding, protecting the transportation routes into and out of Grimes, and protecting the homes of the town’s 296 residents. The California Department of Water Resources has been an active partner in both development of the conceptual project and in funding the various studies and analyses to get the project to its current state.

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