Major Improvements to the Sacramento River Flood Control Project

Water Seminar Series, October 20th, 2023

Topic: Major Improvements to the Sacramento River Flood Control Project
Speakers: David Pesavento, Supervising Engineer, California Department of Water Resources (DWR)

Dan Tibbitts, Principal Engineer, Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA)

Sean McNeil, Senior Project Manager, US Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District South Pacific Division

When: Friday, October 20th, 2023, 12 pm to 1pm

Where: Virtual (via Zoom)—Link to virtual seminar to be sent upon RSVP

The recording of the webinar is available here.

Topic Overview

Staff from the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), Department of Water Resources (DWR), and Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) will discuss the need to expand the conveyance capacity in the Sacramento River Flood Control Project bypass system to protect the Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento metropolitan area from future floods. The bypass system, which is critical in passing large flood events through the Sacramento River Flood Control Project, was designed to convey flows experienced in 1907 and 1909. Since completion of construction in the 1950s, it has experienced flows in excess of the design conveyance capacity, with some distress. Key details of the design and construction of both the DWR setback levee project and the USACE Sacramento Weir extension project will be presented.

About the Speakers

David Pesavento

David Pesavento is a Supervising Engineer who has worked at California's Department of Water Resources (DWR) since 2008. David graduated from California State University with a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Water Resources. David spent 11 years working in the private sector where he designed residential, commercial, and industrial sites, as well as infrastructure before joining DWR. In 2008 David started working at DWR inspecting California's State-federal flood system and was quickly promoted to the manager of the Flood Project Inspection Section for six years. This included inspecting the channels, structures, and 1,600 miles of levee while working with local, State, and federal partners and working emergency response for water related emergencies through the CA-State-Federal Flood Operations Center.

In 2015, David began working on the Lower Elkhorn Basin Levee Setback Project (LEBLS) and in communicating flood related topics, including flood risk, to other agencies and the public. David led the civil design of the LEBLS project as well as participating in other aspects of implementing the project. David is now the Systemwide Flood Risk Reduction Program Manager and responsible for overseeing multiple projects including LEBLS, and other projects throughout the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River basins.

David enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters, road cycling and mountain biking, gardening, and other outdoor activities. They have two dogs, two cats and eight chickens, including the shy Ms. Penelope.

Dan Tibbitts

Dan Tibbitts is a Principal Engineer with the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) and has been with SAFCA since 2016. Prior to moving to SAFCA, Dan was a project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District. As a project manager of the American River Common Features Project, Mr. Tibbitts managed levee improvement construction and flood risk reduction in the City of Sacramento region.

Dan was the project manager for the team that completed the Natomas Post Authorization Change Report (NPACR) and the American River Common Features General Reevaluation Report (GRR). The NPACR was authorized by Congress in 2014 and is now in design and construction, with construction expected to be complete in 2026. When completed, it will invest over a billion dollars in levee improvement construction for this portion of the City of Sacramento. The GRR was authorized by Congress in 2016 and is now in design and construction, with construction expected to be complete in 2027. When completed, it will invest approximately one and a half billion dollars in levee improvement construction for the basins north and south of the American River. The City of Sacramento arguably has the highest flood risk of any community in the country.

Dan has considerable experience with the operations, performance, and history of the Sacramento River Flood Control System, with special emphasis on the City of Sacramento region. Prior to his work as a project manager with the Corps, Mr. Tibbitts worked for the Corps' Sacramento District as a Hydraulic Engineer from 2002 to 2006.

Mr. Tibbitts worked for two private engineering companies, Borcalli and Associates and Ayres Associates, as a Hydraulic Engineer, from 1990 until 2002. Dan received a B.S. in Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1990 and is a registered Civil Engineer.

Sean McNeil

Sean McNeil has worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) since 2016 and currently serves as a Senior Project Manager for the Sacramento District. He manages the Sacramento Wier and Bypass Widening Project, valued over $300M with over 100 team members.

Prior to his current position, he worked for two years as a Project Manager at the Sacramento District for the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) Program. Sean managed 10-12 projects for both Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste (HTRW) and Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) sites.

Other USACE assignments have included Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Infrastructure Assessments for Hurricane Harvey, Action Officer for a $1B fire debris clean-up in 2016/2017 for the Northern California Fires, Action Officer for Hurricane Maria/Irma in 2017 for debris clean-up in the U.S Virgin Islands, to include barging debris off island.

Prior to joining USACE, Sean served 9 years as a consultant with top Architect-Engineer (AE) firms HDR and Mead & Hunt. He served in many roles to include but not limited to: Water Resources Project Manager, Water Resource Civil Design Staff, Environmental Compliance Project Manager and General Engineer Project Manager. Sean is also a Veteran who served 5 years in the United States Army. He earned a B.S. in Environmental Engineering in 2007 from California Polytechnic (CALPOLY) State University in San Luis Obispo, Ca. He also earned an M.S. in Environmental Engineering in 2009 from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, Ca. Sean has earned his Facilities Engineer Level 3 Certification in 2021. He is also an Engineer-In-Training in California (July 2007).

Sean grew up living around the world as a child of an Air Force family but considers himself a native of California. He lives in the Sacramento area with his wife Lisa and three children: Abby, Gabe and Mia.