Floodplain Development Questioned ...

[this_side_up]

Tens of thousands of new homes planned for delta land that could face catastrophe -- proponents cite strength of new levees

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They have begun building new, privately funded earthen levees within the existing dikes that would allow for as many as 5,200 new houses on the Hotchkiss Tract. And the booming Contra Costa city of Oakley is eager to annex the growth into its borders.

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"Developers are unapologetically turning to flood-prone lands, particularly in the delta, as the Bay Area's urban footprint expands eastward. Nearly 40,000 homes that could get flooded if a levee failed are planned in the cities of Lathrop (San Joaquin County), Oakley and Stockton alone.

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"State officials, who have little authority over local land use, say the federal flood standard is inadequate, and they want all urban areas to have levees that provide at least 200-year flood protection. With climate change, storms getting larger and sea levels rising, they say, the flood danger appears to be increasing.

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"I advise everybody to get flood insurance.''

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/01/30/MNGO7GVLK41.DTL

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

1. Incredibly stupid place to build.

On a flood plain, behind a levee, below sea level, in an earthquake zone.