Problem Solvers Request $40m for San Joaquin River Floodplain Restoration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 19, 2023

CONTACT: Nick Mirman

nick@cmpublicaffairs.com

SACRAMENTO - Today, the California Problem Solvers Caucus announced that it had submitted a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom asking the administration to restore $40 million in funding for floodplain restoration projects around the San Joaquin River. Governor Newsom had proposed cutting the funding (which was originally approved in last year's budget agreement) in his January budget proposal.

“Too many communities across California are now grappling with the difficult consequences of our historical underinvestments in flood management,” said Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua (D-Stockton), a Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair. “Maintaining the $40 million for floodplain restoration is just one of many important solutions we can provide, along with bond funding to bolster levees, support dams, and modernize floodways. Not only will this help relieve the stress on our aging levee system that surrounds vulnerable communities, but it will also serve as a tool to help recharge our groundwater supply. This is a win-win.”

Catastrophic Central Valley flooding could cause $1 trillion in damages, according to the 2022 Central Valley Flood Protection Plan Update developed by the California Department of Water Resources and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. Even without catastrophic flooding, estimated deaths due to floods is projected to quadruple in the San Joaquin River Basin without the recommended flood control investments.

"Over the past year, the work of UCLA professor Daniel Swain and other climate researchers has shown that climate change will result in a dramatic increase in flood risk in California, with the San Joaquin River suffering the largest increase in risk," states the Caucus in their letter to the Governor. "This increase means that future flood flows could be up to five times greater than previously assumed."

Click here to read the letter.

The California Problems Solvers Caucus was established in 2020, and seeks to find solutions reached through collaboration, not division; mutual respect, not partisan bickering; and will work in service to the people of California.

Problem Solvers are principled, pragmatic and committed to putting people over party. Learn more at www.caproblemsolversfoundation.com.

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