6/16/2023 0 Comments The sinking city guideOther items include $75 million toward local flood control efforts, including a flood risk management project on the Pajaro River, which experienced its levee breaches and flooding during the storms. The May budget revision is expected to be released Friday.Īmong the investments are $125 million for response and recovery from this year’s damaging storms, which will be reallocated from funds originally planned for drought contingency projects, state finance officials said. The $290 million would come on top of $202 million in flood investments proposed in January. The funds will come from the California Disaster Assistance Act and are contingent upon the county completing an update to its hazard mitigation plan, which may enable some costs to be recouped through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Newsom’s office said.Īlso announced Thursday was a revision to the state’s proposed budget that will include an additional $290 million for flood response and preparation projects in the state. ![]() “Knowing that we can fully fund this Corcoran levee reinforcement so that we can protect the whole entire community and two state prisons, from not only the existing flooding that’s already out there - which is about 360,000 acre-feet of water - but the oncoming water that we know is coming from this massive snowmelt.” “This is a huge relief,” Gatzka said Thursday. City Manager Greg Gatzka told The Times last month that he was “beyond frustrated” by the difficulty of accessing emergency funding for the repair. The announcement followed appeals by Corcoran and Kings County officials for help in raising the aging levee. The governor also announced an additional $290 million for flood response and preparation projects. Gavin Newsom announced the funding Thursday, saying the state will shoulder the $17 million needed to raise the levee from 188 feet above sea level to 192 feet, the historical level needed to protect the community from flooding. The levee is key to protecting critical infrastructure in the area, including medical facilities, power plants and dual prison facilities that hold about 8,000 inmates. ![]() Local and county officials have for weeks been pleading with the state to help finance the project - a substantial feat of engineering that will involve raising the 14.5-mile earthen embankment about 4 feet to keep floodwaters at bay. Central Valley Californians threatened by this year’s massive Sierra snowmelt will receive much-needed state funding as they rush to raise the Corcoran levee, a critical piece of flood control infrastructure that protects the city of Corcoran and its sprawling prison complex from the rising waters of Tulare Lake.
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