FloodSAFE – how one local agency works to keep its levees and public safe

1. Ann Draper, Assistant Operating Officer National Levee Safety Summit, St. Louis Missouri, February 26, 2008 FloodSAFE– how one local agency works to keep its levees and public safe

2. About us • Located in Santa Clara County, California along South San Francisco Bay • Home of Silicon Valley • Serve nearly 2 million residents • Integrated water resources agency • Drinking water wholesaler • Responsible for flood protection and stream stewardship

3. Levees are significant to flood protection in Santa Clara County More than 100 miles of levees protect thousands of parcels - 50 miles provide 100-year protection Levees

4. . 66 % of 100-year levees met FEMA’s new certification standards

5. Multiple actions required to ensure levee integrity and public safety To do list: Inspect Control vegetation Manage animal burrows Repair erosion Secure long-term permits Ensure reliable funding sources Keep community informed & satisfied

6. Levee inspection must be systematic, consistent, verifiable Adequate levee inspection and maintenance is essential for providing a reliable flood protection system, reducing the risk of flooding and loss of life and property, as well as maintaining compliance with State and Federal regulations for funding and flood insurance requirements. Adequate levee maintenance also ensures the accessibility and serviceability during flood events for emergency work. This document describes general procedures and guidelines for field operations levee inspection and record keeping.

7. Vegetation management has many purposes, considerations • Allow for ease of inspection • Help with fire prevention • Recognize neighbors’ concerns with aesthetics, viewshed

8. Burrow management is complex, crucial to ensuring levee integrity Needs, behaviors of several species must be considered California ground squirrel – the primary local species responsible for burrowing into levees Salt marsh harvest mouse – a state and federal endangered species; bait stations used for ground squirrels must be specially designed to prevent inadvertent poisoning of the mouse Western burrowing owl – a California species of special concern; often makes its home in abandoned ground squirrel burrows

9. Burrow management is complex, crucial to ensuring levee integrity Burrow must be vacated before repairs can begin 2 1 bait station active burrow Coyote Creek, San Jose, CA

10. Burrow management is complex, crucial to ensuring levee integrity Burrows are deep and extensive Coyote Creek, San Jose, CA

11. Burrow management is complex, crucial to ensuring levee integrity Potential solution: bentonite clay slurry grout pumped into burrow entrances. Exploratory excavation confirms mixture completely fills and seals burrows. Coyote Creek, San Jose, CA

12. Corrective maintenance cannot be overlooked San Jose, CA Before Porta-dam Coyote Creek levee repair project Rock toe After

13. Long-term permits are key to continuity of levee safety activities 10-year Stream Maintenance Program August 2001 Permits from: San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Department of Fish and Game

14. Reliable funding sources must be secured Santa Clara Valley Water District has spent more than $4 million on levee safety since fiscal 2002

15. Community outreach improves flood hazard awareness Annual direct mail to owners and residents of floodprone properties School outreach Web pages

16. Customer outreach and feedback confirms public support 3-year average Completed project was a benefit to the neighborhood 89% Good/excellent rating for overall job performance 92% 2152 responses

17. Many interests influence local levee management

18. Local land use and flood protection agencies share a commitment to safety

19. Collaboration between local, state & federal agencies benefits our mutual constituency Our shared future

20. Santa Clara County, Californiaa FloodSAFE community