MODESTO — Between vast almond orchards and dairy pastures in the heart of California’s farm country sits a property being redesigned to look like it did 150 years ago, before levees restricted the flow of rivers that weave across the landscape.
The Central Valley covers about 20,000 square miles and is an agricultural powerhouse — more than 250 crops are grown there. The region constitutes about 1% of U.S. farmland but produces 25% of the nation’s food while accounting for one-fifth of all groundwater pumping in the U.S. California officials began centralizing valley flood planning a decade ago. Though some of the worst and most notable floods in recent decades have occurred in places like Houston and New Orleans, parts of California are at serious risk that’s only expected to increase due to climate change. In 1997, major storms caused levees to break throughout the valley, including on the Tuolumne River, causing nearly $2 billion in damage and destroying more than 20,000 homes. Nine people died.
Floodplain restoration isn’t unique to California. Washington state launched a program in 2013 called Floodplains by Design, and projects are popping up along the Mississippi River. But experts say California stands out for its emphasis on projects that provide ecological support. “One of the things that drives me crazy about California water is that decision makers want to talk about floods in flood years and droughts in drought years,” said Barry Nelson, a water consultant who worked on the Dos Rios project. “The weather whiplash we’re seeing this year is really teaching us we need to break out of that pattern.”