Alternatives to the floodwell design in Measure M

Since 2019, our family has been involved in the Floodwall Project. We've attended meetings and provided public comments on project documents, including the draft Lower Cache Creek Feasibility Study and the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

This project is now being submitted by the City of Woodland to voters for approval on the March 5 ballot as Measure M.

The original project objectives in the EIR were to look at flood issues and develop a plan to reduce flood risks through the entire focus area, which includes the town of Yolo, the City of Woodland, and the surrounding agricultural area. In the Feasibility Study, many alternative Floodwall designs were developed for consideration by the Army Corp of Engineers (USACE).

Of these, the City Council selected one plan for analysis in the EIR study, building a 5.6-mile wall and drainage channel north of Woodland that will increase flood risks to homes and farms north of the wall. The other alternatives were dismissed, including ones that benefited areas north of the City. The justifications for dismissal were that they either didn't have a high benefitto-cost ratio or did not provide 100-year flood protection.

One of the plans eliminated called for raising the existing levees on Cache Creek and constructing new ones (setback levees). Setback levees would decrease flooding both north and south of Cache Creek, meeting the EIR's original objective of reducing flood risk in the entire focus area. As a community, let's explore alternative plans more thoroughly and find a plan to reduce the flood risks in the entire area, including the urban and agricultural communities.

Vote No on the Floodwall on Measure M.

— By Betsy Spaulding,

Woodland