Smith Canal Task Force

Smith Canal Newspaper Articles

The following article appeared in The Record, Stockton's local daily newspaper.

Originally Published Tuesday, May 8, 2003 Flood agency may OK Boggs Tract drains Smith Canal would get repairs under proposal before S.J. panel By: Audrey Cooper Boggs Tract may finally get storm drains and parts of Smith Canal may be saved from erosion under proposals before local flood officials. Money for the projects could come from the San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency. The agency, headed by two Stockton City Council members and two San Joaquin County supervisors, was created in 1995 to build levees to protect Stockton from a massive flood. In Boggs Tract, those levees do little to prevent flooding after large storms. Without storm drains to carry rainwater away in much of the neighborhood, low-lying areas become mosquito-attracting swamps. Smith Canal's levees, which protect hundreds of central Stockton homes from floodwaters, are being undercut by water sloshing around with the tides. Flood-control agency board members decided Wednesday to look more closely at the two projects, which would cost a total of $10 million. The agency only has about $6 million in its construction accounts, according to recent financial statements. Stockton Councilman Gary Giovanetti said it was important to look into the projects but cautioned that the flood-control agency should keep some money in reserve in case other flood emergencies arise. The agency raised $68.7 million for levee construction in the 1990s. Some of that money has been slowly reimbursed to residents in chunks doled out by the federal government. The area is still owed about $20 million. The agency can only use its extra money to reimburse property owners and build flood-control projects. And that has been a source of hope for residents in Boggs Tract and near Smith Canal. "People sometimes can't drive on their driveway" because of flooding, said Kirby Deed, a Boggs Tract resident. "It all depends on how bad it gets. And it can get really bad," he said. San Joaquin County Supervisor Steve Gutierrez agreed. A church and homes are often surrounded by standing water after storms, he said. "My phone rings off the hook," he said. "Sometimes, even sandbags can't hold back the water." In 2000, a county-paid consultant explained to Boggs Tract residents a plan to install storm drains. But there was a catch: Although government funds would pay for the drains, residents would have to pay for maintenance. Since only sections of the tract are prone to flooding, that suggestion didn't go far with low-income residents living on high land. However, the agency has funds that could be used for maintenance. That could remove the long-standing barrier to building storm drains. Smith Canal, however, has different problems. Reclamation districts are in charge of maintaining the levees, but the cash-poor districts don't have the millions of dollars needed to repair the undercut levees. Representatives of the districts told a group of Smith Canal residents and local officials last week that erosion doesn't pose an immediate flood problem. But it has created problems for residents, who have to pay thousands of dollars each time a levee is undercut enough to send uprooted trees crashing into the canal. The erosion may be enough of a long-term concern to justify spending agency funds, officials said at the April meeting. A third project considered at the meeting would improve levees around Weston Ranch. Those levees are prone to leakage during prolonged floods. Fixing the levees would cost about $58.5 million, some of which might be picked up by the federal government. But attorneys for the flood-control agency said it would be illegal to use the agency's funds for the project, since Weston Ranch is outside the area originally targeted for flood-control improvements. * To reach reporter Audrey Cooper, phone 546-8298 or e-mail acooper@recordnet.com