Levees don’t pass muster

The current maintenance of two levee systems along Butte Creek just south of Chico is “unacceptable,” according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps conducted inspections for the Central Valley Flood Protection Board and the California Department of Water Resources, the agencies responsible for maintaining the levees.

According to a press release, “The most serious deficiencies throughout the systems were erosion, rodent control and encroachments.” Other local unacceptable levees identified due to erosion and rodents include those on the Feather River where it passes through Live Oak, Gridley and Yuba City, and five along the Mud Creek/Chico Creek system in north Chico. Two levees along the Sacramento River in Glenn and Colusa counties are currently undergoing inspection.

The levees rated unacceptable “are ineligible for federal aid in repairing flood or storm damage to levees until their deficiencies are corrected,” the press release warns.