South Sacramento Streams Group Project

Urban neighborhoods in the southern portion of the City and County of Sacramento rely on levees to protect them from foothill runoff and overflows from the Cosumnes and Mokelumne Rivers as well as from levee failures in the Delta just south of Sacramento (due to the topography, flood waters would flow north into the southern portions of the Sacramento area). Four local creeks in the area protect most of the neighborhoods, which include Morrison Creek, Elder Creek, Florin Creek and Unionhouse Creek.

Incremental improvements to the local creeks have been constructed between 1996 and 2017 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, State of California and SAFCA. These improvements include the construction of 12.6 miles of floodwall, 7.7 miles of sheet-pile cutoff wall, 1.3 miles of new levees, raising 4.6 miles of existing levees and retrofitting 17 bridges.

American River Watershed Common Features 2016 – North Sacramento Streams

The northern area of Sacramento is protected by a series of levees and channels that include Dry Creek, Robla Creek, Natomas East Main Drain Canal/Steelhead Creek (NEMDC) and Arcade Creek. In the 1990’s, SAFCA implemented substantial improvements to the system. The improvements included construction of a new levee and pump station along the north side of Dry Creek, and levee raising and strengthening along the east side NEMDC, the south side of Dry/Robla Creek, and the north and south sides of Arcade Creek. 

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, state and federal agencies adopted new policies and standards to make levees safer. It was determined that parts of the system would require additional improvements to meet current standards. In 2018, SAFCA constructed 3.75 miles of levee improvements along Arcade creek north and south levees west of Marysville Blvd and the NEMDC east levee between Arcade Creek and W El Camino Avenue. Additional improvements to be constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are also planned along Magpie Creek. The improvements constructed to date further reduce flood risk and meet current urban levels of protection requirements.