Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui Celebrates Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project Construction Milestone
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 18, 2012
CONTACT: Nathan Dietrich/ Anne Sanger
(916) 498-5600
Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui Celebrates Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project Construction Milestone
CA. - Today, Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (D-Sacramento), joined with federal, state and local partners to celebrate a major milestone in the construction of the Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project (JFP). After four years of immense amount of excavation, 3 andfrac12; million cubic yards of soil and rock has been removed from the site, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will start construction on the new spillway's control structure.
The JFP is a collaborative effort by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Corps of Engineers, California Department of Water Resources and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) to address the dam safety risk and improve flood protection. The JFP will improve the ability to manage large flood events by allowing more water to be safely released earlier in a storm event and leaving more storage capacity in the reservoir to hold back the peak inflow when it arrives. The project is estimated to cost $915 million and is designed to give much of Sacramento over 200-year level of flood protection.
A portion of Congresswoman Matsui's remarks (as prepared for delivery) follows:
For the last four years the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers have been excavating thousands of tons of dirt and rock from the area behind us.
I have seen with great satisfaction their team of construction workers dig out and haul away countless truck loads of soil and earth.
They have dug down 12 stories and out almost 2,000 feet out.
But the time to dig is over and today we start building!
Starting today we are going to see steel laid and concrete poured until this project is done.
The scope of the JFP is enormous and every ounce of steel and drop of concrete is going to be crucial.
It is more than just a spillway. This project is our country at its best. We meet challenges head on and overcome them.
When done this new spillway will double the level of flood protection for the thousands of people living downstream.
Getting to today has not been easy. Even deciding on this project was not easy. But, because of the historic work of Congressmen Bob Matsui and John Doolittle we are here.
With the work being done our level of flood protection is only going to improve.
As I end, I want to give a final thank you to the construction workers that have been working double shifts for many months and the people of Sacramento that have voted to tax themselves to pay for this project.
Not everyone wants to work nights or pay more in taxes, but when things are important we rise to the challenge.
As this project continues I promise my constant and unwavering support to it. I look forward to standing here again in a few short years to celebrate its completion.
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