The Importance Of Floods In California

California encompasses vastly different bodies of water and types of landscapes. Rivers, streams, lakes and oceans are all part of the natural water system. The different landscapes in California range from thick forests in the Northwest to dry deserts of the Southwest. The climate also varies greatly and creates issues for resource planning. Every year precipitations ends in the spring around May and remains absent until late November. The waterways and landscapes of native California supported an abundance of wildlife. The powerful rivers provided homes for salmon and steelhead fish. The Great Central Valley is marked by vast lowland floodplains that facilitated the growth of many species of mammals. The San Francisco Bay was at one time one of the most productive estuaries in the country. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta contained over 700,000 acres of marshes, natural

The water carried the debris through the Sacramento Valley, the Delta, and the San Francisco Bay. Rivers, clogged with sediment, would overflow into the floodplains of the lowland. Floods were destructive for the environment and for residents especially in the Central Valley. Recognizing the importance of managing the water levels, residents along the river attempted to build levees. These levees proved ineffective in solving the flooding problem. In an effort to relieve the problem, the government created flood control projects. Reclamation districts allowed residents to band together to create larger levees. This seemed like a suitable solution until larger floods returned and communities found that if they could divert water from their land, it would simply spill into their neighboring community. This form of flood control was not effective as lives and agriculture were still at risk. Also, many fish and wildlife species suffered as a result of debris filled