Author: Frank Hopf
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Between 1850 and 1922, agriculturalists built 1,700 kilometers of levees to convert 250,000 hectares of tidal marsh to farmland where the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers enter the San Francisco Bay (the Delta). Drained, farmed and isolated from the water channels, the organic soils behind the levees subsided to elevations as low as 8 meters below sea level, turning "levees" into "dams" that hold back water constantly. Engineers built water transfer projects in the mid-20th century, transferring water from the south Delta to 25 million Californians who now rely on the "dams" accidentally converted into supply channels. In 1972, however, a levee failure caused a salt-water intrusion into the Delta, raising the prominence of the polemic Peripheral Canal which, if built would replace the levees in the trans-Delta water transport role. Levee failures in 2004 (the Delta) and 2005 (New Orleans) have re-ignited the debate, fueled by comments made by public officials who warned that the Delta levees posed more risk of failure than did the pre-Katina Louisiana levees. This background motivates two research questions: What are the social perspectives regarding levee failures of the experts managing the Delta; and what is the history of levee failures that might support their perspectives? The research employed Q-Method to identify and describe four social perspectives: Delta Sustainers, Abandon the Levees, Levee Pragmatists, and Multi-Purpose Levee Advocates. A critical element underlying differences among the perspectives revolved around the perceived history of failures of Delta levees. This dissertation employed semi-structured interviews, archival record searches, and historic map and aerial photograph comparisons to compile a history of 265 levee failures since 1868, many of which are referenced to location, segment, and levee type. In addition, the dissertation compiled a list of emergency repairs and successful flood-fights. The history of failures indicates that important levees of the Delta have performed significantly better than previously identified. Sharing these social perspectives and research results among the key actors addressing Delta issues may lead to improved consensus decisions.
Levee Failures in the Sacramento - San Joaquin River Delta
Author: Frank Hopf
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Between 1850 and 1922, agriculturalists built 1,700 kilometers of levees to convert 250,000 hectares of tidal marsh to farmland where the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers enter the San Francisco Bay (the Delta). Drained, farmed and isolated from the water channels, the organic soils behind the levees subsided to elevations as low as 8 meters below sea level, turning "levees" into "dams" that hold back water constantly. Engineers built water transfer projects in the mid-20th century, transferring water from the south Delta to 25 million Californians who now rely on the "dams" accidentally converted into supply channels. In 1972, however, a levee failure caused a salt-water intrusion into the Delta, raising the prominence of the polemic Peripheral Canal which, if built would replace the levees in the trans-Delta water transport role. Levee failures in 2004 (the Delta) and 2005 (New Orleans) have re-ignited the debate, fueled by comments made by public officials who warned that the Delta levees posed more risk of failure than did the pre-Katina Louisiana levees. This background motivates two research questions: What are the social perspectives regarding levee failures of the experts managing the Delta; and what is the history of levee failures that might support their perspectives? The research employed Q-Method to identify and describe four social perspectives: Delta Sustainers, Abandon the Levees, Levee Pragmatists, and Multi-Purpose Levee Advocates. A critical element underlying differences among the perspectives revolved around the perceived history of failures of Delta levees. This dissertation employed semi-structured interviews, archival record searches, and historic map and aerial photograph comparisons to compile a history of 265 levee failures since 1868, many of which are referenced to location, segment, and levee type. In addition, the dissertation compiled a list of emergency repairs and successful flood-fights. The history of failures indicates that important levees of the Delta have performed significantly better than previously identified. Sharing these social perspectives and research results among the key actors addressing Delta issues may lead to improved consensus decisions.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Between 1850 and 1922, agriculturalists built 1,700 kilometers of levees to convert 250,000 hectares of tidal marsh to farmland where the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers enter the San Francisco Bay (the Delta). Drained, farmed and isolated from the water channels, the organic soils behind the levees subsided to elevations as low as 8 meters below sea level, turning "levees" into "dams" that hold back water constantly. Engineers built water transfer projects in the mid-20th century, transferring water from the south Delta to 25 million Californians who now rely on the "dams" accidentally converted into supply channels. In 1972, however, a levee failure caused a salt-water intrusion into the Delta, raising the prominence of the polemic Peripheral Canal which, if built would replace the levees in the trans-Delta water transport role. Levee failures in 2004 (the Delta) and 2005 (New Orleans) have re-ignited the debate, fueled by comments made by public officials who warned that the Delta levees posed more risk of failure than did the pre-Katina Louisiana levees. This background motivates two research questions: What are the social perspectives regarding levee failures of the experts managing the Delta; and what is the history of levee failures that might support their perspectives? The research employed Q-Method to identify and describe four social perspectives: Delta Sustainers, Abandon the Levees, Levee Pragmatists, and Multi-Purpose Levee Advocates. A critical element underlying differences among the perspectives revolved around the perceived history of failures of Delta levees. This dissertation employed semi-structured interviews, archival record searches, and historic map and aerial photograph comparisons to compile a history of 265 levee failures since 1868, many of which are referenced to location, segment, and levee type. In addition, the dissertation compiled a list of emergency repairs and successful flood-fights. The history of failures indicates that important levees of the Delta have performed significantly better than previously identified. Sharing these social perspectives and research results among the key actors addressing Delta issues may lead to improved consensus decisions.
Salinity Impact Study for Levee Failures Flooding Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Model Islands
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Floods
Languages : en
Pages : 218
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Floods
Languages : en
Pages : 218
Book Description
Discovering and Rediscovering the Fragility of Levees and Land in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, 1870-1879 and Today
Author: John Thompson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Delta Region (Calif.)
Languages : en
Pages : 40
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Delta Region (Calif.)
Languages : en
Pages : 40
Book Description
Status report
Author: United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Sacramento District
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sacramento River Watershed (Calif.)
Languages : en
Pages : 16
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sacramento River Watershed (Calif.)
Languages : en
Pages : 16
Book Description
Protecting Sacramento/San Joaquin Bay-Delta Water Supplies and Responding to Catastrophic Failures in California Water Deliveries
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Resources. Subcommittee on Water and Power
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 88
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 88
Book Description
Corps of Engineers Role and Responsibilities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Author: James C. Donovan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Flood control
Languages : en
Pages : 38
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Flood control
Languages : en
Pages : 38
Book Description
Evaluation of the Causes of Levee Erosion in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
Author: John T. Limerinos
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Delta Region (Calif.)
Languages : en
Pages : 64
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Delta Region (Calif.)
Languages : en
Pages : 64
Book Description
Water supply vulnerabilities in the Sacramento/San Joaquin River system
Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1422334406
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 81
Book Description
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1422334406
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 81
Book Description
Sacramento, San Joaquin Delta Feasibility Report and Water Resource Study
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 656
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 656
Book Description
Report on Causes of Subsidence in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and a Strategy for Controlling Its Rate
Author: Helen K. Burke
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Delta Region (Calif.)
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Delta Region (Calif.)
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Book Description