Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 4.3 Mitigation Capability Assessment Thus far, the planning process has identified the natural hazards posing a threat to Sacramento County and described, in general, the vulnerability of the county and communities to these risks. The next step, prior to forming goals and objectives for improving each jurisdiction’s ability to reduce the impacts of these risks, is to assess what loss prevention mechanisms are already in place. Doing so provides the county’s ‘net vulnerability’ to natural disasters and more accurately focuses the goals, objectives and proposed actions of this plan. This part of the planning process is referred to as ‘The Mitigation Capability Assessment’. The HMPC took two approaches in conducting this assessment for the County and each of the incorporated communities. First, an inventory of common mitigation activities was made through the use of a matrix. The purpose for this effort was to identify activities and actions that were either in place, needed improvement, or could be undertaken, if deemed appropriate. Second, the HMPC conducted an inventory of existing policies, regulations and plans. These documents were collected and reviewed to determine if they contributed to reducing hazard related losses, or if they inadvertently contributed to increasing such losses. The ‘mitigation capabilities’ of each community are individually identified and included as part of each ‘community element’. This section presents those mitigation capabilities that are common to all communities within Sacramento County. SAFCA The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) was formed in 1989 to address the Sacramento area’s vulnerability to catastrophic flooding. This vulnerability was exposed during the record flood of 1986 when Folsom Dam exceeded its normal flood control storage capacity and several area levees nearly collapsed under the strain of the storm. In response, the City of Sacramento, the County of Sacramento, the County of Sutter, the American River Flood Control District and Reclamation District 1000 created SAFCA through a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement to provide the Sacramento region with increased flood protection along the American and Sacramento Rivers. SAFCA’s mission is to provide the region with at least a 100-year level of flood protection as quickly as possible while seeking a 200-year or greater level of protection over time. Under the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency Act of 1990, the California Legislature has given SAFCA broad authority to finance flood control projects Sacramento County Mitigation Capability Assessment Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan Page 4-59 December 2004 and has directed the Agency to carry out its flood control responsibilities in ways that provide optimum protection to the natural environment. SAFCA’s program has three elements: • Ensure the structural integrity of the existing levee system • Provide at least a 100-year level of flood protection as quickly as possible to the areas within the FEMA 100-year floodplain by, among other actions, increasing the space available for flood control at Folsom Dam and Reservoir (Folsom) and • Achieve the SAFCA adopted standard of providing a minimum of 200-year level of flood protection for the Sacramento area. SAFCA's activities are funded from development fees and annual assessments imposed on benefiting properties in three separate districts in Sacramento and Sutter Counties. District 1 provides funding for annual operation and maintenance expenses and covers all of the properties in the Natomas Basin, including those lying within Sutter County, and all the properties in Sacramento County lying within the drainage basin of the American River. District 2 provides funding for capital improvements to the levees protecting Natomas and North Sacramento and covers all of the properties directly benefiting from these improvements. District 3 provides funding for capital improvements to Folsom Dam, the levees along the American River, and the levees and related flood control facilities along Morrison Creek and its tributaries in South Sacramento County and covers all the properties benefiting from these improvements. The magnitude of the flood problem in Sacramento has helped SAFCA obtain federal funding as well. Pending further improvements to the existing flood control system, over 80,000 flood zone parcels remain at a relatively high risk of flooding and 20,000 more are in a moderate-risk status. The 1997 flood underscored the urgency of pursuing additional measures to protect these properties. Congress responded in August 1999 by authorizing the most significant package of improvements to Sacramento's flood control system since the construction of Folsom Dam in 1956. This package is contained in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1999. SAFCA provides a tremendous flood protection capacity throughout Sacramento County. The Agency has succeeded in moving flood zone properties in Natomas and North Sacramento (North Area) from a high-risk status (less than 100-year protection) to a moderate-risk status (greater than 100-year but less than 200-year protection) by raising and strengthening levees around the Natomas basin and along lower Dry and Arcade Creeks. When this work is completed, these properties will have greater than a 200-year level of protection and a relatively low risk of flooding. Outside the North Area, steps have been taken to ensure the integrity of the levee system along the Sacramento and American Rivers and to secure additional flood storage space at Folsom on an interim basis. The fruits of this effort were highlighted during the flood of 1997, when these measures helped prevent catastrophic flooding in Sacramento. The following highlights other SAFCA accomplishments, work in progress, and future plans. Sacramento County Mitigation Capability Assessment Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan Page 4-60 December 2004 Completed Flood Protection Projects • North Area Local Project o Garden Highway through levee seepage o East/West Levee improvements along Steelhead Creek (also known as NEMDC, Natomas East Main Drainage Canal) o Cross Canal Levee Improvements Phase 1 o Dry Creek North Levee o Robla Creek - Phase 1, 2, 3 o Arcade Creek Phase 1 o NEMDC Pump Station • American River Common Features - Slurry Wall Construction • Installation of American River Basin Telemetry Gages • Bank Protection along the American River Sites 1 through 5 • American River Revegetation Sites • Sacramento Regional Water Treatment Plant Perimeter Levees • Folsom Reservoir Reoperation • Pocket Area through levee seepage • American River Common Features Jet Grout Contract 1 • American River Erosion Protection RM 1.8 • American River Erosions Sites 7.0R, 10.2L, 6.4L and 6.9L CEQA Documents - Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration - NOC Draft Environmental Assessment/Initial Study - FINAL Environmental Assessment/Initial Study • American River 10.0 Bank Stabilization • Sacramento River East Bank-Pocket/Little Pocket Underseepage • Sacramento River RM 60.0 - Jibbom Street Park Levee Widening Flood Protection Projects Under Construction • Dry Creek Floodway acquisitions south of Elkhorn Boulevard • Robla Creek Floodproofing • American River Erosion Control • Sacramento River RM 56.7 - Erosion Protection • Hayer Dam Renovation and Dry Creek Debris Removal Project - Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration - Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration Flood Protection Projects In Planning • North Area Local Project • Natomas Levee underseepage • Natomas Cross Canal Phase 2 • Sankey Gap • Arcade Creek Phase 2 • Magpie Creek Improvements - http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/civ/magpiecreek/ • South Sacramento Streams Group Levee Project Sacramento County Mitigation Capability Assessment Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan Page 4-61 December 2004 • Pocket Levee Erosion • Pocket Area Levee Underseepage • Folsom Dam Outlet Modifications • Folsom Dam Mini-Raise • Folsom Dam Road Bridge • Folsom Dam Temperature Shutters • American River Common Features • Mayhew Drain Closure Structure - Negative Declaration/Initial Study • Mayhew Drain Levee • American River Levee Parity • Cal Expo Woodlake Habitat Restoration efforts • North Delta Flood Control Studies • Lower Sacramento Regional Project • Consumnes/Mokelumne River • Natomas Setback Levee Land Acquisition Project - Letter - Request for Qualifications - Natomas Setback Levee Alignment (Sacramento River Bank Protection Project) • East Bank Levee Widening Project at RM 78.1 - Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration (Source: www.safca.org). CALIFORNIA STATE FLOODPLAIN MAPPING AWARENESS PROGRAM The California Floodplain Mapping Awareness Program is currently limited to available floodplain mapping data; but by 2012, all areas expected to develop over the next 25 years will have their floodplains mapped. Initial Floodplain Mapping will be for "Awareness Floodplains" identifying flood hazard areas using approximate assessment procedures. These floodplains will be shown simply as flood prone areas without specific depth and other flood hazard data. The community maps labeled in black on the map to the left are those with completed Awareness Floodplain Maps. The existing maps include FEMA/NFIP Q3 data, plus the additional approximate assessments. (Source: www.fpm.water.ca.gov/mapping/awareness_mapping) The maps available for Sacramento County have been included in the appropriate Community Element section. Sacramento County Mitigation Capability Assessment Multi-Hazard