Schwarzenegger Declares State of Emergency for Valley Levees
Two days after an aerial tour that found "conditions of extreme peril," Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday declared a state of emergency for California's levee system.
Citing the possibility of major earthquakes or severe weather conditions during future flood seasons that would likely overwhelm the State's levee system, Schwarzenegger made the proclamation to help secure millions in federal funds to shore up the 1,100-mile system of levees protecting the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
"Of over 100 erosion sites in the levee system, 24 are criticial in a major next flow event," California Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow said. "We need to move quickly and repair all these sites before the next season."
In 2004, Congress authorized, but did not appropriate $90 million to address the deterioration of Delta levees. Schwarzenegger and other California legislators have since urged the federal government to make the funds available before it is too late.
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