3860 Department of Water Resources
Program Descriptions

30 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND PREVENTION OF DAMAGE

This program protects life and property from damage by floods, ensures proper construction and maintenance of jurisdictional dams and levees, and provides loans for construction, improvement and rehabilitation of domestic water systems to meet state standards for drinking water. Activities include preventive floodplain management to discourage unwise development in areas subject to flooding, protection of already developed floodplains, issuance of flood warnings in cooperation with the National Weather Service, operation of flood control facilities, coordination and supervision of flood fighting activities, and annual levee and flood channel maintenance and inspection. This program also buys land, easements, and rights-of-way for federal flood control projects and supervises the design and construction of new dams and periodic inspection and reevaluation of all existing jurisdictional dams for proper operation and maintenance. The program also reviews federal dam projects in coordination with federal and other state agencies with regard to dam safety.