Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for San Joaquin County following last year’s failure of the Victoria Island Levee. The emergency proclamation allows the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to assist the county with additional work to shore up the levee, according to a news release from Newsom’s office. San Joaquin County first submitted a request for financial assistance to the California Disaster Assistance Act on Nov. 6, 2024, officials said. … The failure of the levee in October 2024 included a 2,000-foot section of the breakwater that caused the release of water at an estimated 6,000 gallons per minute through its base, the state said. Reclamation District engineers found slumping last fall along the Old River on Victoria Island, near Highway 4, between Stockton and Discovery Bay. … Additional work began in late November as crews scrambled to repair the damaged section of levee before winter rains could damage it further.

Other levee news:

• FOX40 (Sacramento, Calif.): Levee upgrades begin final phase in Sutter County
• CBS Sacramento (Calif.): Key levee project near Yuba City almost complete after more than a decade