19 May 2026

USACE team inspect completed American River flood protection project after first winter season

Completed in 2025, Contract 3A marks a major milestone for the American River Common Features program and significantly strengthens flood protection in an area that nearly failed during the 1986 flood event.

23 Feb 2026

Among Hard Hats: An Army Engineer’s Path to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Gabby Faltin is an Army engineer and first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve who supports major infrastructure projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, moving between office coordination and on-site work at dams and flood risk management systems. Often the only Soldier on a civilian team, she combines technical expertise, adaptability, and a calm approach to solving complex problems that directly affect nearby communities. Her fascination with engineering began in childhood visits to Chicago, where curiosity about bridges and learning the Chicago River had been reversed sparked her career path. After ROTC, an Army scholarship, and years of work in the Omaha District, she now bridges military service and public infrastructure, helping protect regions while steadily building a career shaped by intentional goals rather than chance.

26 Jul 2022

It Takes a Village at Isabella

Isabella Lake, California, is the site of the one of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ most prominent examples of partnering. Although it has the USACE name on it, this nearly $650 million investment in flood risk reduction for the southern Central Valley is hardly the work of one agency.

16 Mar 2022

Flood Control Partnerships for a Safer Sacramento

In December 1861, as the Civil War raged in the Eastern United States, the young city of Sacramento, California, was fighting its own battle—with raging flood waters. The city’s fight to stay dry continues to the present day, spearheaded by a variety of federal, state, and local agencies.

15 Mar 2021

Pocket-area project prepares for smoother work in year two

Greater Sacramento, California, is considered one of the most at-risk regions in the United States for catastrophic flooding. Its location, at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, has made it necessary to rely on an aging system of levees, weirs, and passes, as well as Folsom Dam upstream, to reduce flooding.In 1997, the area

17 Dec 2020

Sacramento District quick to adapt in face of COVID

USACE Sacramento District has a proven track record of facing challenges head-on. When 2020 brought with it the Novel Coronavirus, the District responded quickly to address the needs of a rapidly changing work environment.

5 Jun 2020

Real Estate Division: Finding Dream Homes for the Nation’s Largest Infrastructure Projects

Have you ever bought a house? Did you hire a real estate agent to help you navigate the competitive housing market? Often, getting professional assistance in your housing search can make the difference between finding your dream home and losing out to someone with an all-cash offer or better financing. So frustrating! The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District needs help with their real property needs too—that’s why they employ an entire division of real estate professionals. But they do so much more than the average real estate agent to help the district navigate the occasionally complex property issues surrounding many of their most high-profile projects.

15 Apr 2020

Natomas levee improvements hit high gear

With the Sacramento River to its west, and the American River to the south, the Natomas Basin sits at the confluence of two major waterways. Streams, creeks and tributaries mark the northern and eastern boundary. Water surrounds the basin’s perimeter. Levees help keep flowing waters in their channels and out of growing neighborhoods, where approximately 100,000 people live, but a breach to any section of the 42 miles of levee surrounding Natomas could be catastrophic.

10 Apr 2017

Folsom Dam Auxiliary Spillway recognized as Outstanding Water Project

The American Society of Civil Engineers California Region recognized the Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway project as the state’s Outstanding Water Project for 2016 at an awards ceremony held in Los Angeles last month. The honor specifically highlights construction of the auxiliary spillway’s control structure. The structure, basically a second dam, will complement the functions of Folsom’s existing dam by allowing water to be released earlier and more safely from the reservoir during a high water event.

13 Jul 2016

Corps geologist learns the ropes

It’s said a really good geologist needs to know a bit of everything: physics, chemistry, geography, math, biology, engineering … and how about climbing skills that would make Spiderman jealous? Read about Coralie Wilhite, a Sacramento District engineer on her way up!