Thursday, June 15, 2006                                                                                          Printable Version (PDF)

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (CA-5) issued the following statement on the status briefing she received on the Joint Federal Project to make essential improvements to Folsom Dam.   Sacramento’s local flood protection partners – the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA), and the Department of Water Resources (DWR) – provided the Congresswoman with an encouraging update on the project in Sacramento, CA, on Monday, June 12, 2006. 

  

Additionally, next week, Congresswoman Matsui will discuss the joint federal project during meetings in her Washington, D.C. office with Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works John Woodley and Interior Department Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Mark Limbaugh

“Through the Joint Federal Project, we will take advantage of required dam safety work to make the improvements to Folsom Dam, which will provide Sacramento with the 200 year level of protection it has long sought.   

“Sacramento’s effort to increase its level of flood protection continues to move positively forward with the release of the PASS II report. We continue to take step after step towards the completion of the Folsom Integration Project, which will more than double Sacramento’s level of flood protection.  This means the region could handle a storm 50% larger than it has experienced before.

“This investment is critical.  It is first and foremost about protecting people’s lives and property.  If a flood event were to hit our region before this critical flood protection were in place, our region could sustain $35 billion in economic damages.  Prevention is the wisest investment our community can make. 

“Sensibly, this project is designed to use work that is already being planned for maximum cost efficiency. And it is important to keep in mind that a substantial amount of the cost of this project reflects the cost of dam safety work that must take place regardless.

“The bottom line is getting the most flood protection in the shortest time possible and the Folsom Integration Project promises to do just that.  While the numbers are still preliminary, it seems we may be able to reach our goal even faster than anticipated. As the team continues to work on this project, it remains worthwhile and is becoming more cost-effective.

“Working together and cooperating has brought us very far in the past year.  There are, understandably, some very strong motivators – the unnecessary flood risk Sacramento faces from flooding, as well as the interest of all of Washington to avoid another Katrina-like catastrophe.  I look forward to continuing to work closely with all of the partners and to the continued success of this collaborative effort to improve Sacramento’s flood protection.” 

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