Resident raises seepage concerns at Sacramento River North Levee; agency approves contract amendment and reports project updates

A West Sacramento resident told the West Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency Feb. 20 that she has documented repeated seepage and erosion along the Sacramento River North Levee and asked the agency for information on repair timing.

Nicole Sears, who identified herself as a resident of the Bridal neighborhood near the levee, showed a short video and said "it's pretty clear on the street side that there's significant leakage in my untrained eye." She said online information about the project status was not readily available and that attempts to reach the agency or state maintenance authorities had not yielded responses.

Agency staff said design work is underway for the reach Sears described and that maintenance is performed by the reclamation district and, in some reaches, by the state. The board received Sears' video and staff indicated they would forward it to water-resources staff and to state contacts for further review.

On the consent agenda, the board approved an amendment to a contract with REY Engineers (listed on the consent agenda as a contract amendment for the Sacramento River North Levee project). The consent agenda, which also included approval of the board's December minutes, was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote with no recorded opposition; no roll-call tallies were provided in the transcript.

General manager Paul Dirksen Jr. reported project updates under the agency's regular agenda. Highlights included a completed five-year monitoring report for the Southport Mitigation Area that staff said "shows that the project is meeting nearly all of its...performance goals for mitigation." He said a low-flow channel included in the original design has accreted sediment and is no longer functioning as intended for additional fish passage, and staff will discuss that performance with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other resource agencies.

Dirksen said the Army Corps is developing a cash-request letter for the 5% cash requirement under the project partnership agreement; based on 2024 appropriations, he said that amount would be approximately $2,700,000, though the requested amount could be larger depending on anticipated fiscal-year work. He told the board the finance department may bring a request at a future meeting to accept money from the flood in-lieu fee to make project payments.

Staff also told the board they have been meeting with California State Parks and other agencies about the Indian Heritage Center site, noting that parts of the center could be landward or waterward of levee improvements and that work affecting the site would require Central Valley Flood Protection Board review and a section 408 process. Staff said they are working to define construction limits and impacts with State Parks.

Dirksen said recruitment is open for an additional civil engineer on the flood team and that, at a future meeting, staff anticipate bringing a "borrow option" agreement with the Port of West Sacramento to secure about 500,000 cubic yards of material for upcoming levee projects. He also said staff expect to bring a request to appropriate funds for preliminary engineering required by Union Pacific Railroad Company for a potential closure structure near the I Street project.

During director comments, a board member reported that at a recent Reclamation District 900 meeting, Mayor Guerrero said Reclamation District 537 may remove itself from the joint powers agreement. Agency staff said they are doing due diligence at RD 537's request and expect to return to the board with more information in May or June; they also noted that any change would require review by both reclamation districts and the city council and likely several meetings.

The board did not set construction dates for the Sac River North reach at the meeting. Staff repeatedly emphasized the distinction between design-phase work, maintenance done by reclamation districts or the state, and future construction that depends on further approvals and funding.