South Kern River levee gets one recertification, another is closer

Oct. 22--The south Kern River levee has been recertified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers -- which rated the levee "unacceptable" in 2012 -- has had a change of heart, Bakersfield's City Water Board learned Wednesday.

In a Sept. 3 letter to Bakersfield's Water Resources Department, FEMA Regional Engineer Robert J. Bezek said the agency had reviewed two levee certifications by Meyer Civil Engineering Inc. done for the city in 2011 and 2014 and the levee is now "considered accredited."

"Therefore, we plan to continue to accredit this levee system on the next Flood Insurance Rate Map update as providing protection from the 1-percent-annual-chance (base) flood," Bezek wrote.

Water Resources Manager Art Chianello said this should be welcome news for people in the flood zone.

"We're not expected to see any changes in the flood insurance rate maps here, locally," Chianello said.

Councilman Bob Smith, a member of the water board, which advises the city's water resources department, wondered whether trees growing atop the south levee had been an issue for FEMA, as they were for ACE.

"Is that still a bad thing or a good thing?" Smith said.

FEMA never had a problem with trees growing atop the southern Kern River levee, Chianello said.

"In fact, they thought the deep roots might actually strengthen the levee," he said.

ACE was opposed to trees.

Its "unacceptable" rating in May 2012 came because the Army Corps found the south levee had rodent holes and too many trees growing atop and nearby it.

That dropped the levee down to "inactive" status in a voluntary federal program -- bad news because it meant the government would no longer pay 80 percent of the repair costs if the levee were breached by a flood.

A Corps civil engineer said in 2012 Bakersfield had three options to improve the levee's rating: cut down all trees along the Kern River Parkway bike trail, which runs atop the levee; build a new levee or construct a slurry wall.

But now, Chianello said, the Corps has decided trees on or near levees are okay.

"Recently, based on a lot of pushback from a lot of levees throughout the state ... if you have a tree or multiple trees on a levee, it will not be grounds for making you obtain inactive status," Chianello said.

Bakersfield officials are hopeful work to renew ACE's "acceptable" rating for the Kern River's north levee will provide a roadmap for how to get a better rating on the south side.

"We think we can go back and work with them and get (the south levee) back in the program," said Jason Meadors, the city's water resources director.

Nancy Allen, chief of public affairs for ACE's Sacramento District, said the Corps' interim policy, which arrived last year, removes vegetation from the list of criteria to determine whether a levee gets an "acceptable" rating.

Allen said the south levee continues to have other issues -- including possible animal control problems and encroachments into the levee area -- which must be addressed before it can earn back acceptable status.

In other business, board members were reminded city water system users failed to meet their state-mandated water conservation goal of 36 percent for the fourth month in a row. Conservation reached 34 percent in June but slipped to 32 percent in July and August and 29 percent in September.

Many other water companies with a 36 percent conservation goal have had trouble, Meadors said.

Cal Water and Bakersfield both have fines in place with which to penalize water wasters. Cal Water has given out exactly two $50 fines to date in Bakersfield.

The Bakersfield City Council approved an emergency water ordinance last week which includes administrative citations for city customers who misuse water, but the process isn't operational yet and no one has been cited.

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