FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT / SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Grants will ease river risk
Funds help Tehama residents raise homes above flood plain
Redding Record Searchlight - 6/24/03
By Kimberly Bolander, staff writer

TEHAMA - Zona Phillips, at 80 plus years old, knows to grab a suitcase and head for Red Bluff when she hears a flood warning in this tiny riverside city.

But she's not about to abandon her home of 22 years just because construction crews plan to elevate it a few feet above its foundation.

"I know it's not going to be comfortable, but it's going to be more comfortable after it's finished," she said.

There are 122 Tehama homes eligible for a program that will raise the domiciles 2 to 9 feet. The goal is to get all residents in this city of 433 living above the 100-year flood plain, largely aided by state and federal money.

Phillips' house has never flooded - but she's one of the lucky ones in a city known for its soggy seasons.

Next week, she'll be among the first homeowners helped to higher ground.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state Reclamation Board and the city of Tehama have set aside $3.5 million to help raise the homes.

The money pays for 89.5 percent of the job; residents will pay the remaining 10.5 percent, Tehama City Clerk Carolyn Steffan said.

In addition, a federal Community Development Block Grant will pay low-income residents' shares entirely, she said.

The city has been working toward this solution since 1994, Mayor Ron Warner said. But while house-raising programs are common in Tennessee and Kentucky, government help hadn't spread west of the Mississippi River until now, impeding the city's progress, Warner said.

"Because this program has never been used in the state of California, we had to invent paperwork to do it," he said.

About half of Tehama's population falls in the low- or very low-income range, living on $600 or $700 in Social Security money each month, Warner said. At least 40 percent of those residents are widows or widowers, he said.

"They're going to see more than a 50 percent reduction in their flood insurance, I would think," he said.

About 35 homeowners have signed up so far to have their properties elevated, including himself, Warner said.

Raising a home, building a new foundation under it and setting the structure back down costs an estimated $35,000 to $55,000 per house, he said.

"Basically, they become two stories. You can't put any living space underneath, but you certainly can park your boats and your cars there. It makes a great garage," he said.

Next week, workers will prop Phillips' home onto platforms while they build a higher foundation under the floorboards. Her home only needs a 40-inch escalation.

Once the house rises, Phillips' $600 annual flood insurance premium should fall, she said.

She's not sure about the need for drier land, however.

"I have mixed emotions about it. When we bought the house, it was above the flood plain, and so we were satisfied," she said.

A 1983 flood led to a heightening of the flood plain by a few inches, Phillips said.

About a year ago, the Army Corps of Engineers hiked that level another two feet, Warner said.

Meanwhile, it may take two to three years to raise the 35 houses signed up so far, he said. Only two north state contracting businesses do that type of work - Stotts & Sons House Moving in Anderson and Rice Bros. House Moving in Yuba City, he said.

"People that are signed up to get their houses (raised), they're anxious, they're excited about it," Warner said. "And they're wishing it was working faster than it is."