ATTACHMENT TO LETTER TO SOLANO COUNTY 3-13-2012 Part A -8 pages PAGE 1 1. Why is Solano County using incorrect flood data regarding Ryer Island? Note the map from the presentation slide in 2011, And the map proposed in 2012. Do you notice the difference in flood zone treatment? (Pages 1-13) 2. Snug Harbor Drive was officially named in a 1985 Solano County public works meeting. Who gave FEMA the name of Port Lane and how can this get corrected to avoid future confusions? (Page 14-15) The next few pages may explain how Solano County and/or FEMA continue to use incorrect flood data for Ryer Island. However, until both Solano County and FEMA records are corrected, no decisions regarding Ryer Island and/or its land uses should be approved by Solano county Board of Supervisors 2012dra ft map
PAGE 2 Shown below are screen prints from other sources which show Ryer Island as NOT in the 100 year flood plain. Why is the Solano County map/fema map inconsistent with other resources? * * * Notic e the addi tion of Rye r Island into the 100 ye ar flood plainon what d ata was this based?
PAGE 3 In fact, there are many other agencies including US Army Corps of Engineers, DWR, Delta Vision and Delta Protection Commission that have provided historical data over the years, and Ryer Island has NOT flooded in the last 100 years, the same as Grand Island. If one goes back 112 years, there is an indication Ryer Island flooded one or two times, before the levees were improved. Same as Grand Island. So why the different flood zone ratings?
PAGE 4 Starting in 2009 I reviewed many documents from the last 100 years of Delta flood history, and created a spreadsheet of what the various reports showed. This process resulted in the conclusion that in 2005 DWR recognized Ryer Island as having no flood history since the levees were improved in the 1930 s, per the map below, and DWR listed two Ryer Island floods if one went back to the year 1900. BDCP maps showing online show no Ryer Island floods from 1910 to 2010. That is zero floods in 100 years, like Grand Island. 2006 200
PAGE 5 However, when one reviews the 2012 Solano County draft maps, it appears the maps were compiled using the DRMS Phase 1 data which has been proven to be INCORRECT regarding Ryer Island flood history. Below the section of Solano County map you will see the section of the DRMS Phase 1 map that looks similar and the DRMS reflects a flood in 1986-which is false. There was no flood of Ryer Island in 1986. (Circle added in green to highlight false data) Note also that the way the Solano county map is drawn, it appears there were 5-8 levee failures on Ryer Island, thereby inflating the false data even more!
PAGE 6 It has been difficult to trace the source of the false information, but from what I can tell in 2007 Joel Dudas from DWR provided to Sarah Lewis of URS Corporation inundation history for the Delta and Suisun Marsh. One of the first incorrect maps that came out from that data is shown below. 2007
PAGE 7 URS/DWR issued the DRMS Phase 1 Final Report in 2008, and the map is below. I notified DWR in 2009 that DWR was using false flood history for Ryer Island, and by December 2009 DWR had made corrections to some of the chapters of DRMS Phase 1 Report. Both the wrong version and the corrected one still show online. However, the current 2012 Solano Count Draft map appears to use the DRMS data that was proved to be WRONG regarding Ryer Island. Here are screen prints of some of my communications with DWR on this issue. More info is posted at http://www.ryerisland.com
PAGE 8 According to the documents found online at the links noted in the screen prints, the first version of the DRMS Phase 1 map, which used incorrect data, was drafted by Said Salah Mars with URS on 3/11/2008 and revised 3/23/2008. The correction was made by Jay Pano on 12/1/2008 and revised 12/23/2009. Names and dates are circled below. Notice how the correction is designed to make it not very clear there was a correction. In fact, the usual process is for DWR to issue an errata sheet for corrections, which has not been done or at least one does not show on the DRMS page linking the corrected version of the DRMS report. The other oddity is that at the same time this map was drafted, URS was working on restoration of the OTHER Ryer Island located in Suisun Marsh area, which does not show on the DRMS map. Why did URS omit the other Ryer Island on these maps? Below is a page from the revised DRMS Phase 1 Final Report which clearly was revised in a way so as to make it difficult for an uninformed viewer to recognize that the original DRMS made a mistake now being corrected!