Mike Inamine, Executive Director, Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency — September Recap

Mike Inamine, Executive Director of the Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency (SBFCA) gave a great presentation at our September 25th dinner meeting. Mike provided an overview of the SBFCA’s Feather River West Levee Project (FRWLP), a $312 million program to rehabilitate and improve 44 miles of levees in the Sutter Basin. When complete, the project will provide 200-year protection for over 90,000 people living in and around the Sutter Basin communities of Biggs, Gridley, Live Oak, and Yuba City, 100-year protection for the rural southern portion of the Sutter Basin.

The Sutter Basin has a long history of flooding. The levee system along the west bank of the Feather River dates back to before the 1900s where levees have failed primarily from underseepage and through seepage. To address this risk, slurry walls as deep as 110 feet are being constructed along much of the 44 miles of levees, making the project one of the largest slurry wall projects ever. SBFCA is accomplishing this project with a staff of only three and relies on a large team of contracted consultants and service professional. Mike described the makeup of the team, the schedule, and spending plan. Construction is expected to be completed by 2016.

In addition to the technical challenges, Mike described financial and permitting challenges the program faced and how they are being overcome. The project is unique in that the flood control project is local-agency lead, rather than being lead by State or Federal agencies. As such, new ways of obtaining agency approval were required. SBFCA obtained environmental clearance relatively quickly, and challenges to the project by environmental groups were managed with brokered agreements. SBFCA has leveraged local money to obtain the required funding for the project from State, Federal, and other sources.

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Author: Editorial Team