SACRAMENTO, CA, Sept. 7, 2007 -- GEI Consultants Inc., a water resources, geotechnical and environmental engineering firms, announced today that its Bookman-Edmonston division's work on the Bear River Setback levee in Yuba County, (Calif.) has earned certification from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps).
The 10,000-foot-long, $51 million Bear River Setback levee will give the Bear River additional channel capacity and lower the water surface profile by about 3 feet during major flood events. Certification from the Corps indicates the levee reaches were adequately designed and constructed to provide 100-year-level flood protection.
GEI Bookman-Edmonston performed feasibility evaluation, preliminary and final design of the setback levee, and provided construction management services. Additionally, the company performed fast-track geotechnical investigations and preliminary engineering, as well as environmental permitting and right-of-way acquisition. GEI worked closely with the Department of Water Resources, the Reclamation Board, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Yuba-Feather Work Group, a key project proponent.
"GEI Bookman-Edmonston's depth of experience, hard work and collaborative spirit were instrumental in meeting our accelerated schedule for completion of the Bear River Setback Levee. Going from pre-feasibility to completion of a 2-mile long setback levee in just two years is a remarkable achievement for all involved," said Paul Brunner, P.E., executive director at Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority.
The Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority (TRLIA) is working to improve levees on the Yuba, Feather, and Bear Rivers in the Sacramento Valley. The existing levees provide flood protection for approximately 16,000 acres of farms and urban land within Reclamation District 784, including 25,000 current residents and 12,000 future households in the planned residential development of Plumas Lake.
"It was challenging to design and build this levee on a foundation composed of highly variable soft and pervious streambed deposits," said Ray Hart, chief operating officer (COO) at GEI Consultants/Bookman-Edmonston. "Levees are one of the most traditional and key elements of many flood control and flood management systems, and our nation has become acutely aware of both the importance and the risks that the thousands of miles of levees across the country pose."
GEI is part of the Department of Water Resources Urban Levee Evaluation team that is currently doing geotechnical evaluations of the Marysville, Sutter County, American River, and San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency levee system.
GEI Consultants' staff of multi-disciplined engineers and scientists deliver integrated water resources, dam engineering, geotechnical, environmental and ecological solutions to diverse clientele nationwide and locally.
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