Schwarzenegger Signs Laird Flood Control Bill

SACRAMENTO – At a signing ceremony in the shadow of a Sacramento-area levee and next to a levee-protected community, Governor Schwarzenegger today signed AB 156, a bill authored by Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) that directs the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) to take key steps toward improving levee safety in the Central Valley.

In signing the bill, as well as several other related bills, the governor said, “California’s Central Valley has thousands of miles of levees protecting millions of residents and we expect millions more in the coming decades. We want to make sure the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina do not happen here if there is an earthquake or other natural disaster.  That is why we will establish 200-year flood protection as the standard for urban developments in the Central Valley so our growth will be safe growth.”

“Six months before Hurricane Katrina I began the effort to increase levee safety in the Central Valley, and I’m pleased we finally have a bill signed by the governor,” said Assemblymember Laird.  “Though the issues surrounding our levees are complex, the reasons to pursue greater safety are not: our vulnerable levees protect the heart of California’s water supply system, as well as the economy and people of Sacramento and the Central Valley.”

AB 156 will:

• Require DWR to prepare a status report on the levees.
  
  
• Require DWR to annually notify landowners that their land is protected by a levee and recommend that they purchase flood insurance.
  
  
• Require cities, counties and levee districts that receive state funds for levee upgrades to prepare a levee safety plan.