200 Million Tons of Rock Used to Plug Levee Break
A levee breach in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta was closed Wednesday, nearly a month after the collapse flooded crops, threatened to wash out a state highway and left hundreds of farmworkers homeless.
More than 200 million tons of rock were used to fill the gap that opened June 3 along an earthen levee that separates Middle River from Upper Jones Tract, said Don Strickland, a spokesman for the state Department of Water Resources.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. July 8, 2004 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday July 08, 2004 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 40 words Type of Material: Correction
Levee break -- A California section article July 1 stated incorrectly that more than 200 million tons of rock were used to close a levee break in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. The correct figure was more than 200,000 tons.
The repairs will cost up to $8 million, officials said.
Flooding from the 300-foot breach swamped more than 12,000 acres of crops on a man-made island 10 miles west of Stockton. Damage was estimated at $94 million, said Ronald Baldwin, director of emergency operations for San Joaquin County.
With the break closed, workers will drain as much water as possible from the flooded area during low tide. Then, starting next week, crews will begin pumping out the remaining water, much of which stands on land below sea level. The pumping is expected to take about three months.
More than 1,000 miles of levees, built more than a century ago by farmers creating cropland out of marshes, wind through the delta.
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