The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke ground on construction repairs to the Marysville Ring Levee on September 20, 2010. When these repairs are complete, the City of Marysville will have one of the highest levels of protection for a city in California’s Central Valley. Since 1959, the Yuba County Water Agency has worked with local, state and federal agencies, Congress and the State Legislature, to support a higher level of protection for communities in Yuba County, including the City of Marysville.

Background

The City of Marysville is surrounded by 7.6 miles of Ring Levee that protect a population of more than 12,700 people and an estimated 3,731 structures including this region’s largest hospital, Rideout Memorial, which provides the only Level-3 trauma services to over 100,000 people throughout the area. The ring levee also protects State Highways 70 and 20 and the Union Pacific Railroad, all major transportation facilities that run through the city.

Project Description

The Marysville Ring Levee project is a four-phase project to upgrade the levee surrounding Marysville. The primary purpose of the project is to strengthen the existing levee by constructing deep cut-off walls, seepage-berms and other measures to reduce the likelihood of floodwaters seeping through or under the ring levee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District is partnering with the California Central Valley Flood Protection Board and the Marysville Levee District to complete the $75 million project. The state of California has appropriated $17 million toward the project as part of their commitment to upgrade the state’s levee systems. Currently, the entire project is scheduled for completion in late 2013 or 2014. With the project’s completion, Marysville will have approximately a 250-year level of protection (or a one-in-250 chance of flooding in any given year), making it one of the lowest at-risk cities in California’s Central Valley.

A Phased Approached

On August 13, 2010, the Corps of Engineers awarded a $10.8 million contract to Raito Inc. of San Leandro, California, to complete the first construction phase. This phase will upgrade the levee.s fragile northeast reach by installing a 105-foot deep slurry wall. Construction will occur over the course of two construction seasons and is expected to be complete by November 2011. Funding for the phase was provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The remaining three phases are scheduled to be awarded and completed in subsequent years following the completion of the first phase.

Schedule

Documents