According to a recent state report, California's levee system appears to be vulnerable to earthquakes or other natural disasters. Despite recent remediation efforts, about $40 billion would be required to make the aging levee network comply with current standards.
The 13,000 mile network of channels and dirt mounds is supplying more than two-thirds of the area's drinking water and protects against flooding more than $47 billion worth of property in Central Valley. Based on the 2011 report issued by California's Department of Water Resources, 55% of the most critical levees in the state are given a "high hazard" characterization, meaning that they are in the most danger of failure. Over 56% of the non-urban levees, separating salt from drinking water are considered high hazard by the state. A failure in the levee system would cause significant damage not only to businesses and agriculture due to flooding of the rural areas, but the drinking water supply of the Bay Area and even Southern California could be contaminated.
Dr. Brandenberg, professor at UCLA's department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, along with his team have been studying the structural integrity of the levee system and its seismic response. They found out that, in case of an earthquake, the soil and peat used for the construction of the levees' foundation back in the 1880s, may significantly undermine the levees' stability, either due to excessive settlement accumulation or in other cases due to liquefaction occurrence, depending on the composition of the foundation soil. And in the case of a failure in the levee system, Dr. Brandenberg's team estimate is that it could take years to repair it.
But what is the probability of such a strong shaking occurring? According to Dr. Brandenberg "It certainly is something we need to be worried about. I'm not saying an earthquake will happen during my lifetime but there certainly is a chance for it to happen and we should be ready for that event in case it does happen".
Source: nbcbayarea.com
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