Operating and maintaining the levees and drainage facilities is a year-round commitment. Should a levee fail, Natomas would be under 20 feet of water causing billions of dollars in damage and a potential for people to lose not only their property but their lives. Given this critical public safety risk, our District believes it is imperative this community have a single-focused agency such as ours whose only responsibility and mission is flood protection 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Clearing vegetation from levees for inspection and visibility

Activities routinely done by our field crew include mowing levee slopes, trimming vegetation, weed control, rodent abatement, erosion repairs, access roads maintenance, fixing gates and equipment maintenance. Prior to flood season, we “ready” the system for the winter rains. Trees, shrubs, and other vegetation along the levee slopes and adjacent areas must be trimmed so our crew can monitor the levee for problems. Equipment is repaired and flood fight materials are stockpiled for quick deployment to an emergency site. Early detection of a problem and a quick response are essential to saving a levee during a flood emergency.

In addition to the levees, we mow and clean along our interior canals, repair erosion spots, removed sediment deposited by the previous winter rains and insure the pipes and culverts are able to get the runoff from urban areas as well as agricultural fields into our system. Operating and maintaining the seven pump stations around the Natomas basin are critical to keeping us dry. In advance of the flood season we inspect, repair and test all of these facilities to insure they are ready when the winter storms hit.

Repairs to District canal

During a flood, our crews monitor the levee and drainage system on a 24-hour basis looking for seepage, boils or other problems. When a problem is found, we respond with equipment and materials to stabilize the levee as necessary and will generally bring outside contractors to assist with a flood emergency response so our crews can continue to monitor the rest of the system.