Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for San Joaquin County following last year’s failure of the Victoria Island Levee.
The emergency proclamation allows the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to assist the county with additional work to shore up the levee, according to a news release from Newsom’s office.
San Joaquin County first submitted a request for financial assistance to the California Disaster Assistance Act on Nov. 6, 2024, officials said.
“With the emergency proclamation issued, the CDAA would now be available to provide funding for costs incurred by government agencies for the response and recovery efforts stemming from the Victoria Island Levee Failure,” said Kia Xiong, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services.
The failure of the levee in October 2024 included a 2,000-foot section of the breakwater that caused the release of water at an estimated 6,000 gallons per minute through its base, the state said.
Reclamation District engineers found slumping last fall along the Old River on Victoria Island, near Highway 4, between Stockton and Discovery Bay. Emergency crews immediately worked to protect residential properties, Highway 4 and drinking water inlets by adding temporary protective barriers.
Additional work began in late November as crews scrambled to repair the damaged section of levee before winter rains could damage it further.
The county’s Office of Emergency Services said repairs were a joint venture among the California Department of Water Resources, KSN Inc. — a Sacramento-area engineering firm that worked with local authorities to stabilize and strengthen the levee infrastructure — and Caltrans District 10.
Initial damage estimates exceeded $1.2 million. The county incurred a total cost of $63,665.44, officials said.
San Joaquin OES announced in January that repairs were complete.
“Over the past month, a seepage berm and pilings were successfully installed on the levee in coordination with the (California) Department of Water Resources,” the office said in a social media post at the time.
The agency noted that the repairs stopped the seepage and made the levee stronger and more structurally stable.
However, when the state began the job of shoring up the levee, it wasn’t expected to be a permanent fix.
“This repair is basically to get it through this winter,” CDWR spokesman Jason Ince said in November.
The region saw a series of atmospheric river storms in January and February that doused the greater Stockton area with more rain than usual.
According to new emergency proclamation, additional work is required to repair the levee. Details about that work were not immediately clear.
“I find that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist due to impacts from the Victoria Island Levee Incident in San Joaquin County,” Newsom wrote in the proclamation.
The proclamation authorizes assistance to San Joaquin County under the California Disaster Assistance Act, among other provisions, the news release said.
A second proclamation was issued the same day for Trinity County to assist in recovery from the December 2024 winter storms that caused significant damage to that region.
Stocktonia staff writer Chris Woodyard contributed to this report.