Central Valley Flood Protection Board visits Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway

Published Sept. 30, 2013
Central Valley Flood Protection Board members tour the Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway in Folsom, Calif., with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff  and other federal and state partners Sept. 27, 2013. From left: Michael Villines, CVFPB board member; Jay Punia, CVFPB executive officer; Col. Michael Farrell, Sacramento District commander; Jane Dolan, CVFPB secretary; and William Edgar, CVFPB president.

Central Valley Flood Protection Board members tour the Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway in Folsom, Calif., with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff and other federal and state partners Sept. 27, 2013. From left: Michael Villines, CVFPB board member; Jay Punia, CVFPB executive officer; Col. Michael Farrell, Sacramento District commander; Jane Dolan, CVFPB secretary; and William Edgar, CVFPB president.

The control structure of the Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway in Folsom, Calif., as it appears Sept. 27, 2013.

The control structure of the Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway in Folsom, Calif., as it appears Sept. 27, 2013.

Central Valley Flood Protection Board members and other Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway project partners tour the spillway project construction site Sept. 27, 2013 in Folsom, Calif. Preparation work, shown, is to eventually connect the lake with the spillway.

Central Valley Flood Protection Board members and other Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway project partners tour the spillway project construction site Sept. 27, 2013 in Folsom, Calif. Preparation work, shown, is to eventually connect the lake with the spillway.

FOLSOM, Calif. – Central Valley Flood Protection Board members visited the Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway construction site Sept. 27 to receive a project update from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The board, along with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, California Department of Water Resources and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, are the Corps’ partners in the project to reduce flood risk for Sacramento.

“The Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway project has been a complex project and the Corps has brought in expertise from all over the nation to make this project successful,” said Col. Michael Farrell, Corps Sacramento District commander. “We also used engineering expertise within the private sector and several state and federal agencies.” 

“We have a great partnership between the Corps, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the California Department of Water Resources and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency,” said David Thomas, the Corps’ director of the spillway project. The project is also referred to as the Joint Federal Project because construction has been collaboratively managed by two federal agencies, the Bureau and the Corps, speeding the project and decreasing its cost.

Thomas briefed the board members and representatives from all partner organizations on the past and future of the project. Board members then took a tour of the spillway construction site.

“It was good to see how much has been accomplished in a short period of time,” said William Edgar, CVFPB president. “The spillway is the centerpiece of our efforts to provide the City of Sacramento and the surrounding metropolitan area with a 200-year-level of flood protection.”

The spillway project is scheduled for completion in late 2017.