As part of the American River Common Features Project in California, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Sacramento District is performing seepage remediation for the levees along the Natomas Basin. To accommodate the levee improvements, three miles of the Riverside Canal needed to be relocated. This main irrigation canal serves approximately 3,000 acres of farmland. As part of the design team, Mead & Hunt worked with Sacramento District engineers while designing the Riverside Canal relocation, pump stations, and borrow sites for levee construction.
The work included pump testing and investigations for facility and equipment sizing, and working with the USACE geotechnical team to analyze the borrow materials sampling and laboratory testing to develop a plan for suitable levee embankment and seepage berm material. As a Federal flood protection project with State funding, the work is subject to both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Through combining USACE and stakeholder engineer experience, this unique project is underway to provide benefit to the local community for years to come.