Elected officials, community rally for levee funding
“Don’t flood us. Fix our levees.”
Friday’s “Speak Up Rally for Levee Funding” started with a unified chant intended to reach the state Capitol and Gov. Jerry Brown.
Elected officials and commu- nity members rallied for the governor and state to push aside politics and prioritize funding for levees in need of critical repairs.
“I wish we didn’t have to be out here on this sweltering day. So hot that you just might forget that just a few short months ago this whole community was evacuated because of the threat of flooding,” Assemblyman James Gallagher said. “It would appear that many in our state government have forgotten that, and we are here to refresh their memory.”
Gallagher said the rally at the Feather River Parkway in Yuba City was a way for the community to petition state lawmakers and get their attention focused on the critical state of levees impacted by the high waters experienced throughout the state this past winter and with the Oroville spillway incident.
“We matter. Our homes matter. Our property matters. Our lives and our families matter. That’s what we are here to say today,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher said he and state Sen. Jim Nielsen have been pushing the governor and the state to designate $100 million annually to ensure California’s levees are up to current public safety standards.
Though the state’s recently approved budget didn’t mention allocating any money for levees, Gallagher said Brown’s administration recently promised that the state was committed to getting funding for repairs.
“Just last night, they announced they are going to shift $30 million more for levee repairs this year,” Gallagher said. “So already our voices are being heard. This is a team effort. When this community comes together, big things get done, as evidenced by this $400 million levee project that has almost been completed (the Feather River West Levee Project being done by the Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency). But I’m going to tell you, it’s not enough, because every year we have to maintain and repair these levees, and especially after the flood season we saw this year.”
According to SBFCA, $25 million is required immediately to repair one stretch of levee damaged this winter along the Feather River that protects Yuba City residents. The 3-mile stretch must be fixed by the next flood season to prevent a complete failure of the levee, the agency said in a press release.
Nielsen broadened the scope of Friday’s rally, saying it is not just the YubaSutter area in need of levee repairs, but the entire state.
“No matter what you do to secure the dam, if you don’t fix the conveyance system, you might as well not fix the dam,” Nielsen said. “… It takes all of us. It’s necessary, folks. If we don’t stand up for ourselves and for our colleagues in California, then who will? It is on us.”
Nielsen said he was amazed at how so many lawmakers in Sacramento have been neglectful when it comes to making the necessary fixes to the flood protection system. He said there has been a lot of finger pointing over the past several months with not a lot of ownership being taken.
Other speakers included Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova), Yuba City Mayor Stan Cleveland and Sutter County Supervisor Dan Flores.
Flores focused his comments on the governor, saying Yuba-Sutter cannot afford “patience” from the state any longer. He said if the levees failed, Yuba City – with a population of approximately 75,000 people – is at the greatest risk of catastrophe throughout the entire Central Valley.
Flores said the economy cannot go through another situation like the one experienced in February when the entire region was evacuated. Approximately $5.6 billion worth of property could be destroyed if a levee were to break, he said.
“It’s time to set politics aside, Mr. Governor. We are going to ask you for one thing: don’t flood us,” Flores said.
More than 100 local residents, business leaders and officials attended the event organized by Gallagher and Nielsen. Before starting a final “fix our levees” chant, the local assemblyman closed out the rally with a call to action for community members.
“We are not going to be silent. We are not going to let them forget,” Gallagher said. “I want to turn it back on us right now, because we’ve been talking about what’s wrong, and there are a lot of things wrong. But we have to stay committed to this fight. As we go out from this, we need to write letters to the governor. We need to write letters to the legislative leadership telling them to invest the $100 million continuously every year. We’ve laid out the things we want done, and we don’t let up until they are done. Don’t let them forget us again. We have to commit ourselves to be the generation that changes it.”