Are levee failures predictable? The June 3, 2004 failure of the 150 year old Jones Tract levee caused $100 million in damage in the California delta and threatened the water supply to southern California. Are similar failures imminent?

This web site addresses this question and  is under development in connection with CE297 Spring Term 2008. It deals with the current hazard of levee failure in the California delta area with special focus on a high risk area (site sb1, or Sand Boil One) which we have under current observation starting in May 2008.

This site includes a web log of activities and ongoing background studies of such issues as the scour impact of the state water project, failure mechanics of levees, delta geology. It relates these issues to previous catastrophic levee failures that led to the new adjudication of flooding responsibilities in the Paterno decision.

If you want to follow this investigation as it develops, click on the BLOG  symbol just below the title at the top of this page.