Solano County supervisors ratify emergency proclamation after king-tide levee damage

The Solano County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 at an emergency meeting to ratify and continue a local emergency proclamation after December king-tide storms caused levee breaches and erosion in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and the Suisun Marsh.

The action sends a request to the governor’s office asking the state to include Solano County in any broader emergency declaration and to pursue California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) support; Robin, the county’s OES services manager, told the board that CDAA can provide up to 75% reimbursement if the state approves it.

Why it matters: supervisors were shown photos and a slide map identifying affected reclamation districts — including a levee crack described as roughly 1 foot wide and 4 feet deep at one Delta site and overtopping and erosion at several Suisun Marsh districts (Van Sickle Island, Simmons Wheeler, Grizzly West and Joyce Island). Those districts are mostly privately held and rely on reclamation district boards, engineering firms and agency permits to monitor and repair levees.

Steve Chappell, executive director of the Suisun Resource Conservation District, said the damage was unusually early in the flood year. “This is really early in the flood year to have such a significant storm damage to levees,” he said, adding the storm combined strong winds and an unexpectedly high tide. “It was projected to be like a 6.4 tide. It was 8 foot 2.”

Board members pressed staff on inspection cadence, repair funding and environmental impacts of temporary fixes. Robin said reclamation districts are primarily responsible for monitoring and maintenance and that the county and state partners can provide flood-fighting support such as sandbags, visqueen sheeting and California Conservation Corps crews to protect damaged sites until permanent repairs can be done in the dry season.

On reimbursements and next steps, Robin said the county has already forwarded the proclamation to the governor’s office and requested assistance. “Cal OES will ask for initial damage estimates,” she said. If the governor declares a state emergency, the county could then seek a presidential major disaster declaration depending on statewide damage totals, which would make FEMA funding available. Robin cautioned there is no guarantee any of those approvals or funding will be granted.

Supervisors also asked about environmental effects of temporary materials. Steve and Robin said visqueen and temporary plastic sheeting are used to prevent further erosion and are typically removed when permanent repairs are made; the county is evaluating switching from plastic sandbags to biodegradable burlap where possible.

Procedural note: an unnamed supervisor moved the resolution and Supervisor Williams seconded it; the board adopted the resolution by a 5-0 vote. Chair Mashburn noted another king-tide event was expected the coming weekend and called for caution among volunteers assisting with sandbagging.

The board adjourned and announced its next regular meeting on January 7 at 9 a.m.