Background
There are just over 215 miles of levees in Yolo County. For the most part, these levees are maintained by reclamation districts, special districts that provide drainage, levee maintenance, or irrigation services, or they are maintained by the State Department of Water Resources. However, the County has maintenance responsibility for two sections for levees within the County. One of those levee systems is managed by County Service Area 6 (CSA 6) - sometimes referred to as the "Snowball CSA" due to its proximity to the Snowball Mansion in Knights Landing.
CSA 6 is located in northeastern Yolo County and is bound by the Sacramento River on the east, Sycamore Slough on the north, Knights Landing Ridge Cut on the west, and the old Sacramento River channel on the south. (See Attachment A for Vicinity Map) The levees under the County’s purview comprise an area about 6 miles long and extend along the Sacramento River from Knight’s Landing (west) to the Fremont Weir (east). The County Service Area itself (I.e. the area paying assessments for levee maintenance and management) encompasses about 2,500 acres. The CSA was created in 1975 when the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) transferred levee maintenance responsibilities to the County. As a County Service Area, CSA 6 is under the direct supervision of the Board of Supervisors.
As described in the Delta and Flood program update on June 27, 2017, this levee system has been deemed "unacceptable" or "deficient" due to deferred maintenance, needed repairs, and the age of the levee system. However, staff has been working with other local maintaining agency (LMA) partners on the development and approval of a "System-Wide Improvement Framework" (SWIFs) for both systems. SWIFs are intended to allow LMAs to transition their levee systems to US Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) standards over time. The SWIF for this levee system identifies and prioritizes deferred maintenance obligations, repair sites, and potential improvements. The SWIF needs to be approved by both the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB) and the USACE. The SWIF for the Knights Landing levee system is expected to be approved this summer (2017), (see Attachment B for the SWIF as submitted to the CVFPB) . Approval of the SWIF will allow the levee system to be temporarily eligible for P.L. 84-99 assistance (federal funding administered by the USACE) while we correct unacceptable operation and maintenance deficiencies as part of a broader, system-wide improvement to our levee system.
Funding
The CSA collects approximately $39,900 per year in property tax assessments. However, due to deferred maintenance, there is a fund balance of approximately $264,700. Approval of the work plan and the amended MOU with the Yolo County Resource Conservation District (RCD) will result in a budget allocation of approximately $150,000 this fiscal year. ($140,000 to complete phase 1 of deferred maintenance and $10,000 for on-call, as needed, district engineering services.) It should be noted that the deferred maintenance will take at least two fiscal years, perhaps three, to complete. One advantage to sourcing this work to the Yolo County RCD is that they have access to special funding (both state and federal) for invasive species removal and riparian restoration - the proposed levee maintenance contains elements of both grant fundable activities. This, in combination with an approved SWIF, will allow the Natural Resources Division to seek alternative funding sources for levee maintenance and repair, and to also leverage fund balance into matching funds for grants.
Staff Proposal
The Natural Resources Division was requested to take over management of this levee system in April 2017. Since that time Natural Resources staff have worked collaboratively with our LMA partners (RD 108, Knights Landing Ridge Cut District, Knights Landing CSD), DWR, the USACE, and district engineer (MBK Engineers) to develop the proposed annual levee maintenance work plan for FY 17/18 (Attachment C). The work plan takes into account the following:
- the recommendations in the SWIF,
- recent (2015-2017) levee inspections by DWR and USACE,
- more recent (post flood events) levee inspections by the district engineer and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
- what is feasible to complete this FY and what is affordable for the CSA with existing funds.
As mentioned above, significant work is needed on this levee system to bring it into compliance with state and federal levee standards. Approval of the proposed work plan will bring the County much closer to addressing the deferred maintenance issues and will also demonstrate to our local, state, and federal partners that the County is committed to bringing the levees into compliance and providing adequate flood protection to Knights Landing and its surrounding agricultural operations.
Staff recommends updating and expanding the scope of the existing MOU with the Yolo County RCD (first approved by the Board in 2009) to allow staff to contract various restoration and maintenance types of work to the Yolo County RCD including: open space maintenance at various County parks, levee maintenance as needed, restoration activities consistent with the Cache Creek Area Plan, etc. It should be noted that most (over 70%) of the work requested of the RCD by the County is reimbursable by various grant awards to the County. All work done for the Cache Creek Area Plan and CSA 6 will be funded by fees, assessments, or grants. There is no general fund impact associated with this request.
Staff will continue to pursue outside funding sources and partnerships to achieve compliance and optimal flood protection. The Natural Resources Division, on behalf of CSA 6, is planning a community meeting in August for the Knights Landing area. The purpose of the meeting is to:
- Introduce County staff and our partners (CVFPB, DWR, Yolo County OES, etc),
- Explain the purpose of the CSA and the roles and responsibilities of the CSA, the County, the state and federal agencies, and the landowners,
- Educate the community on the purpose, maintenance, and improvements needed on their levees,
- Request the communities assistance and partnership on addressing levee violations such as encroachments, penetrations, etc., and
- Begin building a collaborative and transparent relationship between the maintaining agencies and the community that the levees protect.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Board:
1. Review and approve the proposed annual maintenance plan for FY 17/18; and
2. Approve the Revised and Restated MOU with the Yolo County Resource Conservation District, with minor edits consistent with the purpose of the attached draft subject to approval by the Office of the County Counsel |