2003 November 20 Sacramento Bee David Whitney
Knight Rider/Tribune Business News
Flood-Control Deal for Sacramento, Calif., on Way to White House

Nov. 20--WASHINGTON -- A groundbreaking flood-control deal for Sacramento was on its way to the White House on Wednesday for President Bush's expected signature after the House and Senate easily approved the 2004 spending bill to which it was attached.

The deal, reached earlier this year between Rep. John Doolittle, R-Rocklin, and Sacramento Democratic Rep. Robert Matsui, authorizes work that will lead to long-sought protection for Sacramento from American River flooding.

It also allocates $66 million for a bridge below Folsom Dam that will restore a major commuter artery lost when the Bureau of Reclamation closed the road across the top of the dam last winter because of national security concerns. Additionally, the measure authorizes $135 million worth of water projects in Doolittle's congressional district.

"This is a great day," Doolittle said Wednesday. "I am very excited. This gives us a shot in the arm where we have needed it for a very long time."

Matsui said the deal would bring Sacramento 213-year flood protection, meaning that the chance of a flood will be calculated at one in 213 in any given year.

"The big fights are over," Matsui said. "This puts in place a specific plan we need to get 213-year protection to make the people of Sacramento safe."

The deal emerged after Doolittle, long a proponent of building a multipurpose dam at Auburn, agreed to not hold up the last elements of flood protection sought by the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency.

In exchange for that pledge, Matsui helped Doolittle win support among Democrats for spending $135 million on unspecified water-supply improvements throughout Doolittle's district.

When the pact ran into trouble in Congress, the two influential congressmen maneuvered it into a must-pass spending bill for water and power agencies when that measure was undergoing final revisions before a House-Senate conference committee.

The House approved the compromise-spending bill Tuesday on a 387-36 vote, and the Senate approved it on voice vote Tuesday night.

Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson, who sits on the flood control agency's board, called the deal's rapid progress "a crucial step in achieving adequate flood protection for Sacramento."

The deal authorizes completion of levee improvements and a 7-foot addition to the height of Folsom Dam. These projects, combined with work under way to add more and larger gates to the face of the dam, will make it possible to rapidly lower the reservoir behind the dam upon warning of an approaching giant storm.

Dickinson said enough work should be completed on the levees for Sacramento to reach the key 100-year flood-protection level by next fall. That should allow the city to appeal for certification from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to lift the requirement on businesses and homeowners that they buy expensive federal flood insurance.

Also included in the funding bill is nearly $20 million for flood-control and other work already under way. This includes $3.5 million for projects on Morrison, Unionhouse, Florin and Elder creeks, and $300,000 to remedy riverbank erosion at Sand Cove Park.