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Delta Voice Fall 2020

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Delta Voice Fall 2020 DELTA VOICE A publication of the Delta Protection Commission Fall 2020 CONTENTS Pages 1-2 Flood Readiness Page 3 Flood Ready Windsurfing Preparing your property Pages 4-5 Ferries Pages 6-7 Oral Histories Although flooding on leveed Delta islands are a rare occurrence, flood risk Page 8 is a fact of life in the Delta. Floods can happen with little or no warning. A Delta Agency Meetings & powerful rainstorm, rising river, or catastrophic levee failure can happen Delta Flood Prep Week quickly. Property owners must not overlook flood preparations for their homes, other buildings, and businesses. Taking the time to protect your property before a flood will save you money and it may save lives. Before the Flood There is no shortage of items to consider when preparing your property for a potential flood. Begin with waterproofing any subareas, including basements and possible entryways such as window wells. Waterproofing Delta Protection Commission includes making sure rain gutters and storm drains are clear and the slope 2101 Stone Blvd., Suite 240 surrounding your home and other buildings directs water away. Make sure West Sacramento, CA 95691 sump pumps are in working order and tested on a regular basis. delta.ca.gov Continued on page 2... a publication of the Delta Protection Commission Fall 2020 - Page 2 Storm surge can cause a backup of sewage lines and force utilities are restored. If you are able, raise movable that sewage into residences and businesses. Speak to a appliances as high as possible to protect them from licensed plumber to see what options are available to rising water. prevent backflow from entering your property through connections like bathtubs, sinks, and dishwashers. Make sure cabinets and other storage units with hazardous materials and chemicals are secured with Many homes in the Delta rely on propane for heat and a lock or latch. A zip tie around the handles of a cooking and have free standing storage tanks. Farms and kitchen cabinet should prevent chemicals from float- other agricultural businesses may store gasoline or other ing and posing risks. fuels onsite. It’s important to anchor fuel tanks to prevent them from becoming floating hazards that can explode and Finally, move vehicles, equipment, and livestock to cause fire damage. Keep trash and discarded equipment the highest areas possible if you are not able to take and materials from cluttering your property. These items them with you. can become floating hazards when flood waters rise. According to the Federal Emergency Management Bottles of household cleaners and other chemicals can Agency, the average flood claim for a residence combine with flood waters to create a poisonous soup in 2018 was around $40,000. Investing time and dangerous to animals, rescue workers, or returning prop- money to protect and maintain your property will erty owners. Store these chemicals as high as possible save you money after a flood event and protect and in cabinets that can be tightly secured. your neighbors, rescue workers, and even you! For more information about how to prepare for floods, Leaving Your Home visit delta.ca.gov/beprepared Shut off all utilities coming into your home and surrounding buildings at their source, including electricity, gas, and Delta Flood Preparedness Week water. Yes, even water pipes can burst during a flood event causing additional water damage to your property! October 17-24, 2020 Disconnect appliances to reduce the chance of electric See the back page for information. shock when power is restored. It also a provides the opportunity to inspect connections for damage before a publication of the Delta Protection Commission Fall 2020 - Page 3 SURFING THE Delta Breeze Of all the recreation jewels in the water. Foilboarders can further defy and kid sailing camps, provides porta Delta, perhaps most surprising is its gravity by hovering over the water -potties, and ganizesor bi-annual international renown as a windsurfing for a distance, suspended between cleanup days (in conjunction with location. Located off Hwy. 160 near water and sky. the Delta Conservancy). The club also the southern tip of Sherman Island, works with youth groups, distributing in the shadow of the John Nejedly Sherman Island is not for the lifejackets and promoting kid safety (Antioch) Bridge and nearby wind- beginning wind enthusiast. The at Sherman Island County Park. The farms of Solano County’s Montezuma fierce winds can accelerate you off organization members are enthusiasts Hills, a Sacramento County park is the beach with as much speed as themselves, and can be found on the a popular picnic and water access a muscle car, and the heavy use on water (and in the parking lot) helping location with a sandy beach and a weekends places a premium on visitors enjoy this unique Delta treasure. protected area for water play. having control over your kites and sails, lest a collision occur. On a busy Sherman Island County Park is also a summer day it first appears to be coveted location for wind enthusiasts chaos, though on closer inspection of every stripe, what some call “sailing a visitor can understand the delicate in its purest form.” Home of the choreography occurring on the famed “Delta Breeze” that blows water. With the dry Montezuma nearly continuously during a season Hills as a backdrop, the sight of multi- that spans from May through August, colored kites and sails zigzagging these wind conditions are ideal for across the expanse of open water is windsurfers, kitesurfers, and foil- stark and thrilling. boarders. On a typical summer day there can be well over 100 sailors Sherman Island windsports are plying a three mile stretch of the stewarded by RVWA/SIKO - Rio Vista Sacramento River Delta. While wind- Windsurfing Association/Sherman surfers hew to the water’s surface, Island Kiteboarding Organization; kitesurfers and foilboarders defy www.rvwa-siko.org - a nonprofit gravity and catch big air, sometimes organization that protects and flying dozens of feet into the air before improves windsport access, re-builds gently (and skillfully) returning to the launches annually, runs water safety a publication of the Delta Protection Commission Fall 2020 - Page 4 The Life and Times of DELTA FERRIES The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been home to With the passage of the Swamp Land Act of 1850, boats of various sizes since the 1840’s, providing vital construction of levees to create rich agricultural land services to its inhabitants. Few roads or trails allowed altered not only the waterways in the Delta, but its trails for the easy transportation of goods and the Sacramento and roads. In 1852, state legislation authorized roads and San Joaquin Rivers quickly became Northern to be surveyed and laid to reach ferry landings for river California’s fastest highways. crossings and to link federal forts within the state. For a publication of the Delta Protection Commission Fall 2020 - Page 5 the next several decades, many independently owned J-Mack is a cable drawn ferry drawn across Steamboat ferries sprung up throughout the Delta wherever two Slough by a powerful winch on board that is attached to roads existed on opposite waterway banks. a fixed cable. The cable is stretched 400 feet between the shores of Grand Island and East Ryer Island. It can Advances in mechanical and structural engineering carry up to six vehicles during its three-minute crossing. allowed bridges to replace many of the ferries in the Delta; by 1927, a person could drive on paved roads One other ferry is hard at work in the Delta, providing from Sacramento to reach San Francisco by way of San private service to land and homeowners. The Victory II Jose or sit aboard an auto ferry crossing San Francisco is a free-running ferry that takes vehicles from Jersey Bay. Today, only a few ferries remain active in the Delta, Island to both Webb Tract and Bradford Island. It’s two of which are considered state highway assets always a good idea to check on their status before managed by Caltrans and operate around the clock planning a crossing. to serve the public. The Ryer Island Ferry is classified as an extension of Delta Ferry Information Highway 84 and has been served by the Real McCoy II since 2011. The free-moving ferry provides service Ryer Island and Howard Landing Ferries between Ryer Island and Rio Vista across Cache Slough. (510) 622-0120 At 88-feet long with a 38-foot beam (width), the Real dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/ McCoy II maneuvers with the aid of propellers that d4-projects/d4-solano-delta-ferry rotate 360 degrees. With 80,000 pounds of capacity, the vessel can carry up to eight vehicles. Bradford Island Ferry The Howard Landing Ferry is an extension of Highway (925) 684-3766 220, currently served by a vessel named the J-Mack. bradfordisland.com/ferry-info With a length of 92 feet and a beam of 32 feet, the a publication of the Delta Protection Commission Fall 2020 - Page 6 THE POWER OF THE HUMAN ORAL HISTORY PROJECTS ARE THRIVING IN VOICE ~DELTA COMMUNITIES ~ Hideko “Heidi” Sakazaki While the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand are undertaking the challenging and rewarding work of words,” may be true, there is also something about producing these oral histories in several communities hearing the voice of an older man recalling his child- across the Delta. hood or a short quote from a 92-year-old woman that can evoke a time better than a thousand words As part of her work collecting narratives about the of text. Oral histories can connect people across Delta, UC Davis Ph.D.
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