Managing the Inevitable

Before the European settlement, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was one of California's most dynamic landscapes. Today's Delta is unstable and has significantly changed from its historic condition. It faces inevitable changes in landscape, economy, and ecology, driven by land subsidence, changing inflows, sea-level rise, earthquakes, and biological invasions. All these changes increase future risks of Delta island flooding. This chapter focuses on the state's investments to resist or manage these changes through levee improvements and repairs. The Delta Levee Subventions Program, in particular, has significantly reduced levee failures and is the most important state investments in Delta levees today.