<P>68The Military Engineer ? July-August ? 2010 vee was not compliant with requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program and USACE standards required to protect against the Standard Project Flood. This prompted FEMA to undertake a revision to area ?ood insurance maps to meet the requirements for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. The map revision would place up to 80 percent of structures (both residences and businesses) in Santa Maria within the 100-year ?ood zone. In turn, this would prompt a requirement for property own- ers to purchase costly ?ood insurance pol- icies for the ?rst time. In addition, USACE was required to bring the project back in to compliance with the original congres- sional mandate. Tailor-Made for Stimulus Funds If ever there was a project tailor-made for stimulus funding, the Santa Maria Le- vee Improvement Project meets the crite- ria. By the time the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed in February 2009, the levee project was shovel ready, with a design and plan in place. The infu- sion of more than $40 million in federal stimulus dollars supplemented $6.7 mil- lion secured by local Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Calif.) of the 23rd Califor- nia Congressional District under the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act. As it is built over the next year, the proj- ect is expected to create up to 800 jobs and spur more than $120 million investment in the local economy. A Long and Winding Road The path that led to the levee repairs now underway began long before the Re- covery Act came into existence. Congress- woman Cappss characterization of this project as in the right place at the right time is a good description of a process that can be traced back to three years after the levee was completed. In December 1966, the ?rst of what became a periodic series of ?ood events damaged the Santa Maria levee. This storm undercut about 400-ft of the levee with ?ows that hit at an estimated 16-ft per second, carving out two crescent- shaped impressions midway up the levee. The local sponsor repaired the damaged areas and excavated a pilot channel to di- vert ?ood ?ows away from the area. A later report concluded that the only reason the levee did not suffer a complete failure was the short duration of the peak ?ow. Barely two years later, in February 1969, another ?ood event caused even greater damage. Meandering storm ?ows pushed against the levee at about 18-ft per sec- ond, eroding about one-third of the levee in one area. Emergency repairs were made and USACE convened a board of experts to recommend modi?cations. Additional ?ood events occurred in 1980 and 1998, each delivering a different level of damage to the levee. By the time Katrina hit in 2005, local of?cials in Santa Maria were on edge. On Sept. 20, 2005, the Chairman of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors expressed his con- cerns to the Los Angeles District and asked for expedited review and remedial construction to repair the levee so it would provide, …the protection it is intended to provide and that it needs to provide. Time to Act The Los Angeles District quickly deter- mined that the underlying and recurrent problems with the Santa Maria levee were the result of a de?ciency in the original design that did not account for the impact of directly impinging ?ows from mean- dering low ?ows. In the 45-year history of the levee, such ?ows had resulted in one complete breach and several near breach- es. Based on this data, the Los Angeles District concluded that there was not a defensible technical basis to certify the levee without action to repair the underly- ing de?ciency. Repairs would be directed at a 6.5-mi segment of the levee that pro- tected the areas most vulnerable to threats to safety and economic vitality. Engineering consultant HDR was hired to perform an erosion alternative analysis of the levee that would provide a basis to select an appropriate repair methodology. This 2007 report narrowed a long list of op- tions to a few preferred techniques. From this, the Los Angeles District selected a combination of soil cement and sheet pile wall for a three-phase project to reinforce the Santa Maria levee. Soil cement was selected for the majority of the levee repairs, with a small area des- ignated for sheet pile repairs to avoid po- tential impact on the California red-legged frog—a species classi?ed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—that was documented in that portion of proj- ect area in the draft environmental assess- ment. The sheet pile method avoided the need to clear surrounding growth and the associated disturbance of native habitat for a 1,700-ft-long stretch of the levee. On the Road to Recovery With funds in place, designs complete and the ?rst of several contracts let for construction, work is underway to repair the Santa Maria levee system. Much has changed in the 50 years since the levee was built, but the commitment of USACE to meet its mission to provide residents of Santa Maria with ?ood protection based on 1954 congressional mandates has not. Hurricane Katrina was a wake-up call for communities across the United States to pay more attention to local levee sys- tems. The Santa Maria story shows that lessons can be learned and that good has come from that call. This fast-track project is on schedule for completion before the 2011 rainy season, good news for residents and business owners of Santa Maria. Col. Thomas H. Magness, IV, P.E., LEED-AP, M.SAME, USA, is Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District; 213-452-3961, or thomas.h.magness@usace.army.mil. Erik B. Johnson, M.SAME, is Energy and Re- source Management Marketing Manager, and Steven Mano, M.SAME, is Water Resources Section Manager, HDR Engineering Inc. They can be reached at 714-730-2301 or erik.john- son@hdrinc.com, and 714-730-2301 or steven. mano@hdrinc.com, respectively. U.S. Highway 101 crosses the Santa Maria Levee just north of the city of Santa Maria.</p> <UL><LI><a href="http://www.stallionpublishers.com/publication/609/tofzxaosm/1/1/">Front-Cover</a></LI> <LI><a href="http://www.stallionpublishers.com/publication/609/tofzxaosm/2/2/">Inside-Front-Cover</a></LI> <LI><a href="http://www.stallionpublishers.com/publication/609/tofzxaosm/3/3/">Page-1</a></LI> <LI><a href="http://www.stallionpublishers.com/publication/609/tofzxaosm/4/4/">Page-2</a></LI> <LI><a href="http://www.stallionpublishers.com/publication/609/tofzxaosm/5/5/">Page-3</a></LI> <LI><a href="http://www.stallionpublishers.com/publication/609/tofzxaosm/6/6/">Page-4</a></LI> <LI><a href="http://www.stallionpublishers.com/publication/609/tofzxaosm/7/7/">Page-5</a></LI> <LI><a href="http://www.stallionpublishers.com/publication/609/tofzxaosm/8/8/">Page-6</a></LI> <LI><a href="http://www.stallionpublishers.com/publication/609/tofzxaosm/9/9/">Page-7</a></LI> <LI><a 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