Never mind those earthquakes: Atmospheric rivers could put Sacramento 30 feet under water

July 9, 2019
Candice Wang
The Sacramento Bee

The biggest freshwater rivers on Earth don’t flow along the planet’s surface.

Instead, they surge and whip through the atmosphere thousands of feet above our heads, carrying 2½ times the amount of water that gushes through the Amazon River at any given time.

They’re called atmospheric rivers, or, more aptly, rivers in the sky.

These rivers are capable of burying Sacramento under 30 feet of water.

A research team led by Sasha Gershunov at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego published a new study on atmospheric rivers in Nature Scientific Reports this week that places atmospheric rivers under scrutiny as the driving cause behind California’s increasingly extreme, infrequent bouts of precipitation.

Gershunov’s team used 16 global climate models to analyze the expanding role of atmospheric rivers as contributors to precipitation in California. The results show that atmospheric rivers are getting stronger and wetter, and catastrophic events like the Great Flood of 1862 could happen again.

Read more here.

Elk Grove Sphere of Influence

Elk Grove SOI

Elk Grove SOI map

Location of the proposed expansion of the Elk Grove Sphere of Influence. Click on image to view full size.

Resources

  • FAQs: Sphere of Influence (SOI).
  • Final EIR: Revisions and corrections to the Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report for Elk Grove’s Proposed SOI Amendment (Sept. 27, 2013).
  • Comment letter in response to the Final EIR (November 4, 2013).
  • Draft EIR: Elk Grove Proposed Sphere of Influence Recirculated Draft EIR (March 21, 2013).
  • Comment letter in response to the Recirculated Draft EIR (May 20, 2013).
  • Article: “Elk Grove wants to expand its boundaries by 8,000 acres” (Sacramento Bee, Oct. 7, 2013).
  • Editorial: “Elk Grove should concentrate on jobs in its existing core” (Sacramento Bee, Sept. 25, 2013).
  • Editorial: “Elk Grove’s growth plan is an overreach” (Sacramento Bee, March 26, 2012).
  • Article: “Elk Grove’s proposal to expand encounters early questions” (Sacramento Bee, Apr. 7, 2012).

Elk Grove wants to expand its size by 30 percent

What’s really scary? Elk Grove wants to expand its size by 30 percent, with concrete covering the farmland and wildlife habitat south of the City. That is the plan that Elk Grove has submitted to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo), a little known public agency responsible for ensuring orderly development and protection of open space and farmland. You can help defeat this proposal and help LAFCo make better choices for our region. Check the LAFCo website for updates and sign up at the ECOS website for action alerts.

We need your help NOW!

LAFCo begins hearings soon on Elk Grove’s request to include 8,000 acres south of its current city limits within its Sphere of Influence. Approval would give the city a green light to annex and develop the land. This request is the largest urban expansion ever to come before LAFCo.

LAFCo staff recommendation includes a “Regional Enhanced Alternative,” which is a reduced footprint scenario for the SOI of 4000+ acres. Since there has been no demonstration of any need for expansion beyond current Elk Grove’s city limits to accommodate growth, ECOS remains in full opposition to the alternative recommendation as well.

Please send a letter or email to the Commissioners at:

Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission.
1112 I Street, Suite 100 , Sacramento, CA 95814-2836
Fax: (916) 874.2939 Email: commissionclerk[at]saclafco[dot]org


Top Ten Reasons for Denying Elk Grove’s Overreach

By Rob Burness, ECOS Board member & Habitat 2020 Co-chair

Elk Grove’s leaders would have us believe they simply want to plan for their future and improve their job housing balance. Others have tried to characterize the issues as jobs vs. environment. But there is regional significance far beyond that simple calculus. Here are ten reasons why LAFCo should turn down Elk Grove’s overreaching request:Continue reading