River Islands development plan

River Islands is a development proposed for Stewart Tract in the southeast Delta. It would build a new community protected by a “super levee.”  This new levee is seen by adjacent landowners as a breach in the long-standing agreement to build levees to the same height, thereby ensuring that all would share equally in the risk of flooding. If realized, River Islands would set a new precedent for in-Delta suburban development.

Uncivil Engineering: The River Islands Proposal

High Ground levee

This so-called “high ground” levee is proposed to be built around Stewart Tract. Construction would take place inside of the existing levee, which would remain. This diagram gives a sense of how the levee and adjacent landscape might work, and describes some of the benefits of the new inner levee.

River Islands development plan

Master plan of River Islands. A new super levee surrounds a set of more-or-less conventional suburban housing neighborhoods.