Who deserves a levee? The fight to save California communities from flooding
The tiny town of Hamilton City sits in the direct path of the mighty Sacramento River, muddy and swollen by this week's storms. But a new $125 mill...
March 20, 2023
8:44 AM
The tiny town of Hamilton City sits in the direct path of the mighty Sacramento River, muddy and swollen by this week's storms. But a new $125 million levee system — the product of the community's 35-year-long fight to make something big from something broken — is protecting its 1,900 farmworkers and their families. This week, as a levee failure drowned the town of Pajaro, Hamilton City's river also overflowed. But then it gently spread across a landscaped floodplain, losing its fury. The levee held firm.
Lisa M. Krieger