Thursday, August 16, 2007
Funding update for Folsom Dam and Sacramento flood control
Critical infrastructure project for flood control and river conservation
Reported today in the Sacramento Bee newspaper (pg B2):"Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., uses Folsom Dam as a backdrop Wednesday to report on the Water Resources Development Act, which includes $444 million in funding for the dam. The legislation has been approved by a conference committee of both houses of Congress, but still needs Senate approval before it can be sent to President Bush for his signature. Bush has hinted at a veto, Boxer said."
Funding for Folsom Dam upgrades is needed desperately. Sacramento, CA has the lowest level of protection against flooding of any major city in the USA. It is easy to forget during our hot, dry summers, but Sacramento is a New Orleans style disaster just waiting to happen. Upgrading the flood control capabilities at Folsom Dam is the most rapid and cost-effective method to provide part of the flooding protection that Sacramento needs so desperately, so all taxpayers should support this project. Whitewater boaters and anybody interested to conserve river canyon environments should also support Folsom Dam improvements. Upgrading flood protection at Folsom Dam will reduce the need to build new flood control structures elsewhere, thereby preserving other areas of our river canyons in their current state.
On the other hand, The Heritage Foundation describes The Water Resources Development Act of 2007: A Pork Fest for Wealthy Beach-Front Property Owners. If this pork barrel legislation gets the veto it apparently deserves, hopefully the Folsom Dam upgrades and any other critical infrastructure projects in this legislation will get funded quickly some other way.
More about: Sacramento CA Flood Control and River Conservation in California.
Tags: rivers, flooding, dam, water development.
Labels: conservation
