Many California cities and counties are wrestling with flood waters these days, but, perhaps more importantly, they are also wrestling with revised flood risk maps issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The new maps have raised the consternation of local government officials, homeowners and developers in numerous locales, and in a few places the new maps are forcing reconsideration of growth plans.
The state Department of Water Resource (DWR) has received harsh criticism from State Auditor Elaine Howle for the department's administration of a flood protection corridor program. The auditor found that DWR lacked objective criteria for scoring applicants when it awarded $28 million in bond funds to five projects in 2001, and did not require mandated information from applicants when it awarded $29.1 million in 2003.
A controversial water project gets approved in Sacramento County while in the city of Sacramento, a property tax increase is approved to improve flood safety. The LA City Council has approved a master plan for revitalizing the Los Angeles River, Fresno Co
