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Bullock Bend Mitigation Bank
Restoring floodplain habitat along the Sacramento River for endangered and threatened fish and wildlife species.
The Sacramento River
Supplying water across the state of California
The Sacramento River is the largest river in the state of California. The river is fed from runoff from the inland slopes of the Klamath Mountains, The Cascade Range, Coastal Ranges, and the northern Sierra Nevadas. From its headwaters near Mt Shasta, the river is over 384 miles long.
For centuries, the river has provided invaluable resources for both people and native species.
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Along its journey, The Sacramento River flows through one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions, the Central Valley of California. The Central Valley produces close to a quarter of the nation’s food supply and forty percent of the nation’s fruits and nuts (U.S. Geological Survey, 2020).
The Sacramento River supplies essential water to almost half of California’s population. A series of dams and 444 miles of channels facilitate the flow of water to Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area.
The Central Valley was once a vast network of marshes and wetlands. As early as the 19th century, farmers and pioneers were creating levees to reduce marshland and protect agricultural interests.
Over 1,115 miles of levees have been constructed throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect critical farmland.
The Sacramento River is also home to a wide variety of wildlife species. Fall, winter, and spring run salmon migrate up-river each year to lay their eggs and spawn.
Each year millions of migratory birds follow the wetlands along the river as they make their way north in the summer and south in the winter.
Trouble along the River
The historic natural processes that shaped the San Joaquin Valley’s wetlands have been dramatically altered.
The dynamic seasonal floodplains, backwater channels, alcoves and riparian habitat that once lined the river that provided refugia for juvenile salmonids has been largely replaced by levees and concreate channels.
Bullock Bend Historical Floodplain Map
Levee failure at the Jones Tract in 2004
California has become more susceptible to catastrophic flooding events from levee failures. In 2004, a levee failure about 10 miles west of Stockton flooded 5,365 acres of farmland, costing close to 90 million dollars in repairs. In 2017, the emergency spillway at Lake Orville failed with an estimated 100 million dollars in repairs.
In 2019, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave California's levee and flood management system a "D" grade. Throughout the state, many dams are over 60 years old. Levees in the central valley are often over 100 years old. These older dams and levees are not necessarily up to today's design standards and require more maintenance to remain effective. The responsibility for flood-related maintenance is spread across local, state, and federal agencies, often making improvements a complicated bureaucratic process.
Current investments in infrastructure fall short of their requirements. A 2017 report from the Legislative Analyst's Office, "Managing Floods in California," reported an average of 2 billion dollars a year is spent on flood maintenance improvements. Still, the budget needs an additional 1-2 billion dollars to keep up with maintenance and repairs.
Moving forward, California is looking to implement long term infrastructure improvements along the Sacramento river that not only protect human resources and interests but restore biological function.
Bullock Bend Mitigation Bank
With the establishment of the Bullock Bend Mitigation Bank, Westervelt Ecological Services is finding a balance between protecting our farmland and water supply while also providing critical habitat for fish and wildlife species.
Bullock Bend Mitigation Bank provides 116.15 acres flood plain habitat along the Sacramento River. The bank has established a connectivity between the river and new floodplain habitat on the southerly (downstream) side of the property.
The site now has backwater and off-channel refugia habitat that is inundated during seasonal flooding, providing essential habitat for migrating juvenile salmonids and steelhead. Additionally, the Bank increases the flood capacity of the river and may reduce localized flooding to surrounding farmland.
Restoration
Restoring farmland to natural floodplain habitat
Before Restoration
A 100-year-old unregulated farm berm with high, steep walls on three sides of the property protected the farmland from flooding. The farm berm was susceptible to seepage from the river, potentially endangering the farmland and crops. A U.S Army Corps regulated levee protects farmland west of Bullock Bend.
After Restoration
To restore the site, WES excavated large backwater channels with a natural slope to establish an active floodplain. The site dries in the late spring and floods in the winter months.
When flooded, the site provides critical habitat to juvenile salmonids and steelhead seeking refuge from high-velocity waters in the main stem of the river. The floodplain also supplies food, such as phytoplankton and other organic matter, for the salmonids.
Throughout the restoration process, WES worked closely with the local farming community and water reclamation district. WES donate over 45 thousand cubic yards of dirt excavated from the site to help repair agricultural infrastructure and levee toe roads.
Today, the site floods with the rivers natural pulses, accommodating a variation of water levels in winter months depending on annual rainfall and snowmelt.
From December through May, typical storms flood 3-6 percent of the property.
The site will fully flood only during extreme weather conditions.
Bullock Bend site flooded in 2017
Looking Forward
WES established a conservation easement and long-term stewardship endowment for the site. Unlike other bankers, WES desires to carefully manage the protection and stewardship of the property in perpetuity.
Bullock Bend plays a small but mighty role in developing a new balance between ecological and human interests along the Sacramento River.
A river critical for the state of California.
Mitigation Credits
WES wants to answer all your questions related to compensatory mitigation. Whether you have issues related to service areas, credit types, ratios, or agency approvals.
We are here to help!
Click to explore the different credit services areas for Bullock Bend Mitigation Bank