Sac levees fail federal standards

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declared levees protecting most of Sacramento and 15 other areas in the Central Valley have failed to meet federal maintenance standards.

Problem areas include 40 miles of levees wrapping around Sacramento along the American and Sacramento Rivers, according to The Sacramento Bee. The Army Corps identified many locations where homes, swimming pools, fences and other structures were built too close to or on the levee itself, leaving no room for the 15-foot wide maintenance corridor required by the Corps. The failed criteria means the levees will no longer be eligible for federally funded maintenance should they be damaged in a storm.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency uses data from the Corps to determine whether a community should lose its 100-year flood certification, which would force thousands of Sacramento homeowners to purchase flood insurance.