Feather River West Levee Project

The Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency is planning to improve 44 miles of levees from Thermalito Afterbay south to the Sutter Bypass (project map). The goal of the project is to reduce flood risk and remove more than 34,000 properties from FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas.

Levees along the west bank of the Feather River do not provide 100-year flood protection (protection against a flood that has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year), because they suffer from potential underseepage and through-seepage. Similar problems caused major levee failures in Yuba City in 1955, and Yuba County in 1986 and 1997.

Levees can be made stronger by building deeper cutoff walls (also known as slurry walls), stability berms and seepage berms. These levee improvements block or slow the flow of water through and underneath the levees. Not all 44 miles of levees will need each of these improvements. A detailed engineering study is being conducted to determine what fixes are needed.

The levee improvement project is expected to:

  • Increase public safety by providing 200-year flood protection to Biggs, Gridley, Live Oak, and Yuba City, and improve flood protection for the less populated areas south of Yuba City.
  • Save property owners tens of millions each year in mandatory flood insurance costs by delaying, preventing, or cutting short FEMA floodplain mapping.
  • Allow cities and counties the freedom to implement general plans, which will soon be severely restricted for any urban or urbanizing community without 200-year flood protection. This would not apply to rural communities (areas with fewer than 10,000 residents).
  • Maintain the rights of property owners to make substantial improvements to property without new state or federal land use restrictions.
  • Sustain and grow the local economy by creating construction jobs, protecting property values, and allowing for responsible residential, commercial and industrial development.

Project Cost

The Feather River West Levee Project is estimated to cost $312 million. The state is expected to pay for 77 percent of that amount. In June 2010, property owners who will benefit from improved levees approved an annual assessment to pay the local cost share, which amounts to approximately 23 percent of project costs. Property owners can look up individual property assessments using SBFCA's Assessment Calculator. 

Project Timeline

The project is on time and within budget. Agency engineers are working on the levee project design and preparing requests for necessary permits from state and federal agencies. Environmental specialists are also collecting information that is needed for environmental permit approvals.

Design and environmental work is expected to be completed in 2012. Construction will take three years and could begin as early as 2012.