Flood History

One of the consequences of Delta reclamation is that the land created there is subject to the threat of flooding.

Some islands have flooded up to 8 times in the last 130 years, and most recently in 2004 the Upper and Lower Jones Tract flood inundated 12,000 acres to an average depth of 12 feet, costing its owners 90 million to repair.

The rich organic soils that make the area so productive as agricultural land have also made it subside, in places to as much as 25 feet below sea level. Most of the Delta’s levees are managed and maintained by farmers whose businesses are competing in a global agricultural market. For them, levee maintenance is an unavoidable expense that hurts them in the marketplace.