Levee Failures in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
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LEVEE FAILURES IN THE SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN RIVER DELTA: CHARACTERISTICS AND PERSPECTIVES A Dissertation by FRANK HOPF Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December 2011 Major Subject: Geography LEVEE FAILURES IN THE SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN RIVER DELTA: CHARACTERISTICS AND PERSPECTIVES A Dissertation by FRANK HOPF Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Co-Chairs of Committee Christian Brannstrom Douglas J. Sherman Committee Members Vatche Tchakerian John Vitek Head of Department Vatche Tchakerian December 2011 Major Subject: Geography iii ABSTRACT Levee Failures in the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta: Characteristics and Perspectives. (December 2011) Frank Hopf, B.S., Lafayette College; M.B.A., Boston University Co-chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Christian Brannstrom Dr. Douglas J. Sherman Between 1850 and 1922, agriculturalists built 1,700 kilometers of levees to convert 250,000 hectares of tidal marsh to farmland where the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers enter the San Francisco Bay (the Delta). Drained, farmed and isolated from the water channels, the organic soils behind the levees subsided to elevations as low as 8 meters below sea level, turning “levees” into “dams” that hold back water constantly. Engineers built water transfer projects in the mid-20th century, transferring water from the south Delta to 25 million Californians who now rely on the “dams” accidentally converted into supply channels. In 1972, however, a levee failure caused a salt-water intrusion into the Delta, raising the prominence of the polemic Peripheral Canal which, if built would replace the levees in the trans-Delta water transport role. Levee failures in 2004 (the Delta) and 2005 (New Orleans) have re-ignited the debate, fueled by comments made by public officials who warned that the Delta levees posed more risk of failure than did the pre-Katina Louisiana levees. This background motivates two research questions: What are the social perspectives regarding levee failures of the experts managing the Delta; and what is the history of levee failures that might support their perspectives? iv The research employed Q-Method to identify and describe four social perspectives: Delta Sustainers, Abandon the Levees, Levee Pragmatists, and Multi-Purpose Levee Advocates. A critical element underlying differences among the perspectives revolved around the perceived history of failures of Delta levees. This dissertation employed semi-structured interviews, archival record searches, and historic map and aerial photograph comparisons to compile a history of 265 levee failures since 1868, many of which are referenced to location, segment, and levee type. In addition, the dissertation compiled a list of emergency repairs and successful flood-fights. The history of failures indicates that important levees of the Delta have performed significantly better than previously identified. Sharing these social perspectives and research results among the key actors addressing Delta issues may lead to improved consensus decisions. v DEDICATION The dissertation is dedicated to all of those who have accepted responsibilities to balance the societal risks associated with our very complex modifications of the natural world. May you always be effective and enjoy good fortune. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am not sure I ever accomplished anything alone in my life, I owe much to many for helping me fulfill this lifelong dream of earning a doctorate in Geography. I owe the dream itself and the will to achieve it from my late parents, Frank and Ida Hopf, and my fourth grade teacher, Mrs Phillippi. They all gave me a lot of love and support, and opened my eyes to the fascinating world worth learning more about. I am thankful that I could share those lessons with my brother Dave during our childhood. We lost Dave during the writing of this dissertation and I miss him. I could not finish this memorial section of my acknowledgements without honoring my wife’s parents, Allan and Ann Noroian, who always gave me much love and support also. I must thank my good friend Professor C. Allen Williams of Sam Houston State for helping me get back into academic geography and his support along the way. And of course I very much appreciate Professors Doug Sherman and Jonathan Smith of Texas A&M University for supporting me through a very tough time in my life. I will always be grateful for that support. The credit for the hard work of helping me become knowledgeable enough to write this document goes to the faculty and graduate students of the Geography Department at Texas A&M and the larger University. Special credit and all my thanks go to my advisory committee, headed by Professors Christian Brannstrom and Professor Douglas Sherman, who co-chaired the committee, members Professor Vatche Tchakerian and Professor Jack Vitek. I also want to thank Professors Dave Cairns and Professor Billy Edge who served on the committee along the way. I appreciate the opportunity to have worked with Christian, Doug, Vatche, Jack, David, vii and Billy on this and other projects over the last seven years. They are all excellent scholars, councilors, administrators, and human beings. It has been a great honor to be permitted to associate with each of them. I cannot thank them enough for their help. Another group I would like to thank for their help on this project is the 36 men and women, all very deeply involved in trying to solve the problems in the Delta, who gave valuable time from their busy schedules to share their knowledge and passion for the Delta with me. Their dedication and knowledge, regardless of which social perspective they loaded on, was truly outstanding. I only wish I could thank them individually and by name for they deserve all much credit and thanks for helping me. Unfortunately, the terms of my institutional research restrictions will not permit that. However, you know who you are, and I thank you. I can thank Roy and Diane and their staff at Rogelio’s Dine and Sleep Inn in Isleton for making my away from home during my field research so comfortable. I can also thank Phil Pezzaglia at the Rio Vista Historical Museum; and Jeff Hart (Delta Eco-Tours) and the crew of the Tule Queen II for their help in exploring the Delta. I want to thank also the California Department of Boating and Waterways for the financial support they gave me on earlier erosion research work that got me hooked on the Delta. Moreover, last and perhaps most, I want to thank my friends and family for their support through all of this. Brian and Judy Bochner deserve special thanks for helping me type the paper and proofread. I want to thank Jack Vitek for his helping in proofreading drafts; it is great to have a long time journal editor as a neighbor and friend. The effort viii might have collapsed of its own weight and my lack of clerical skills without Judy, Brian, and Jack. My son Frank and daughter Erica provided great emotional support along the way. Erica helped me with some of the best graphics in the dissertation. I could not have worked long and hard without the loyalty of a golden retriever and Jack Russell terrier at my feet through long hours of research and writing. It is hard to give up on something when you associate with a Jack Russell terrier like my Bailey; and Colby, the Golden, reminded me daily of the value of patience. I owe the most thanks, however, to my wife of many years, Gail. Putting up with my sometimes-crazy idea and sacrificing so much for another’s dream has not being easy or natural. I tell those who ask, that most of my financial support for this research came from the Gail Noroian Hopf Foundation for Geographic Research. However, Gail’s financial sacrifices are only a small part of why I could never have done this without her, and why she means so much to me. There are many other friends, teachers, professors, and fellow students who helped me on this journey but the effort to make the list complete might match the effort of writing the dissertation, but I do thank them all. ix NOMENCLATURE af or acre-feet Volume of water covering one acre to a depth of one foot CALFED California – Federal Initiative for San Francisco Bay and the Delta CVP US Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project DF&G California Department of Fish and Game DRMS Delta Risk Management Study DSC Delta Stewardship Council DWR California Department of Water Resources ESA Endangered Species Act (Federal) SWP California State Water Project SRCD Suisun Resource Conservation District SWRC State Water Resources Council RD Reclamation District USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers USBR United States Bureau of Reclamation USGS United States Geological Survey . x TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... vi NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................