Sacramento County issues emergency alert for levee erosion repairs along the Cosumnes River
An alert for needed repairs was issued this week due to “significant uncontrolled levee erosion” along the Cosumnes River in east Sacramento County.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors ratified an emergency proclamation in response to the levee erosion on a stretch of the levee east of Dillard Road and south of Highway 16, between the communities of Sloughhouse and Rancho Murieta.
County officials have closed Discovery Park and a number of boat launches along the American River ahead of anticipated flooding from a series of storms this week.
The threat from the levee erosion recently discovered along the Cosumnes River is low, county officials said, and they have not issued an evacuation notice.
The Cosumnes River at Michigan Bar near Rancho Murieta was at 5.75 feet at 9 a.m. Tuesday, below the monitor stage of 7 feet, according to data collected by the California-Nevada River Forecast Center. The forecast through Sunday shows the center expects the river to reach its highest peak at 7.06 feet, above the monitor stage, at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
In a news release Tuesday, county officials said the emergency proclamation issued this week is part of a process to alert California officials to the needed levee repairs in Reclamation District 800. Last year, the same district received financial help from the state to cover the costs of emergency repairs to levees along the Cosumnes River.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services gave more than $390,000 in reimbursements for repairs to levees damaged over a year earlier by a series of atmospheric river storms that also caused deadly flooding.
On Dec. 31, 2022, atmospheric rivers and flash floods caused a break in levees along the Cosumnes River near Wilton. Portions of Sacramento County flooded, including parts of southbound Highway 99, which caused three deaths.
Reclamation District 800 officials recently discovered a problem with an irrigation line near the 9 feet elevation mark on the water side of the levee, according to the county news release. The levee controls the path of water from the Cosumnes River.
“While the threat of levee failure is low, the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services has developed specific response plans if conditions worsen,” county officials said in the news release.
County officials encouraged residents living south of Highway 16 near Dillard Road to register online for notifications from Sacramento County or send the text message “levee” to 77295. Residents were advised to follow updates from local news reports and the National Weather Service.
