City averts economic disaster

In 1955, a major flood inundated the southern portion of Stockton, California. Forty years later, the city and surrounding region faced another potential economic and environmental catastrophe. In 1994, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted a restudy of the Stockton region and found that the existing flood control facilities were inadequate to protect the area in the event of a 100-year flood. Thus in 1995, the San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency (SJAFCA) was created to plan, design, finance, and construct a flood protection restoration project addressing FEMA's restudy results. With a benefit assessment district, the costs to design and construct public facilities are spread equitably to properties that will benefit from the flood improvements. Construction will be completed by October 1998.