The Bethel Island Municipal Improvement District
NEEDS YOUR HELP

With the accelerated growth on Bethel Island, as well as increased regulatory requirements, we at BIMID are assessing any and all alterations to the levee and drainage system.  Change has to begin and we need your help and cooperation to accomplish this.

Bethel Island is surrounded by eleven miles of levee that keep the Delta waters out of the interior of the island.  Everyone living behind a levee has a responsibility to help maintain the integrity of the levee.  Some activities must be restricted to prevent levee failure or interference with the island drainage system.  BIMID has adopted ordinances to guide residents’ selection of appropriate activity. 

Levees are engineered to withstand water pressure.  Any modification to a levee can weaken that critical ability.  BIMID personnel who patrol the levee and are charged with maintaining the levee must be able to see the entire slope of the levee, both on the water side and the land side, particularly with respect to water seepage and rodent damage. 

Some vegetation, other than grass, can be a problem.  Tree roots can be a perfect conduit for water traveling through the fragile levee.  Also, dumping of grass clipping, other vegetation and junk into the island drainage ditches restricts water flow and can cause flooding. 

Retaining walls on the landside slope of the levee pose one of the biggest problems. In a March 2008 letter to BIMID, BIMID’s Engineering Firm, Hultgren-Tillis Engineers, states… “retaining walls on the landside slope are undesirable for several reasons including, but not limited to:

• The added weight reduces the stability of the slope.
• The walls limit the potential to observe the slope, including seepage on the slope.
• The walls limit the ability for BIMID to repair the slope.
• The walls collect seepage through the slope and an improperly designed collection system could lead to failure of the slope.”

Thus, new retaining walls will not be permitted.

Persons who have recently constructed retaining walls, garden planters, terracing, and similar structures without BIMID approval will receive an abatement notice to remove the structures.  Existing structures installed with an approved application from BIMID will not be abated.  However, the repair of old retaining walls will be examined during a project application review, on an individual basis.

BIMID has a contract with the Department of Water Resources to begin raising the levee in the residential areas.  Some of the levee must be raised at least one foot, which will cause the new slope to extend beyond the current slope.  This may cause some disruption to residents.  BIMID will collaborate with the residents impacted by this process to minimize the impact where possible.  The levee will be raised to a minimum height for the safety of the entire island.  Throughout this process BIMID requests the help and understanding of everyone living on Bethel Island. 

• Notice to Mariners which encompasses the filling of the lagoon as well as any excavation activities.
• CLICK HERE to Read the Notice

• NEWS FLASH-COMMUNITY EMERGENCY (SIREN) WARNING SYSTEM:
• The District has reached agreement with the County to include our on-island sirens in the County Community Warning System.  The District hopes to have the first two sirens in place by the end of the year.  These sirens will be placed on Gateway near the Piper intersection and on Taylor Road.

• BIMID employs Canciamilla to further levees project
• BETHEL ISLAND: Board hopes experience of former assemblyman will help communication
• Article Launched: 06/14/2007 03:07:08 AM PDT
• By Rowena Coetsee - CONTRA COSTA TIMES
• Former state Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla is going to bat for Bethel Island, drawing upon his political experience to help the community get the money needed to shore up its levees.

  Directors of the Bethel Island Municipal Improvement District recently agreed to hire Canciamilla at the suggestion of board member Bob Cameron. Under the six-month contract that takes effect June 15, the veteran Pittsburg politician-turned-consultant will earn somewhere around $250 to $350 an hour -- the exact figure has yet to be decided, said board Chairwoman Sheila Goodson.

  Goodson and her colleagues are hoping Canciamilla will help improve the communication between BIMID and the county, which don't always keep each other apprised of what they're doing, Goodson said. It's important to get both agencies talking so they can agree on how much the island should grow, Canciamilla said, adding that for years there wasn't a need for much contact because the unincorporated community had so little development.

  Now, however, the demand for housing in East County is such that developers can make a satisfactory profit even after building the roads and other infrastructure Bethel Island needs. That means BIMID and the county must decide whether they want to support residential growth, he said. Although the county is the one that makes land-use decisions, BIMID must have levees capable of protecting whatever housing the county approves.

  If the two agencies aren't working in sync to ensure that happens, would-be developers will have a tough time getting financing -- and ultimately buyers -- for their projects, Canciamilla explained. Finding more money to strengthen Bethel Island's levees is where he comes in.

  Until these earthen barriers are brought up to a certain standard, and until BIMID can afford to keep them in that condition, Goodson said the county's general plan limits new-home construction on the island to one unit per parcel.

  But reaching that higher bar likely will be a challenge, given that both the state Department of Water Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have made it clear they are only interested in protecting the island's existing structures. Neither entity wants to pay for levee improvements that would foster additional development on Bethel Island, Goodson said. And Canciamilla isn't promising he can change that attitude. "I'm certainly not claiming to deliver any particular amount of money or that I can influence an agency -- no one can do that," he said. "But at the same time, I think I can give (BIMID) a decent shot at it." That might mean pointing out to these state and federal agencies that they haven't always applied this no-growth-or-no-funds policy consistently; Canciamilla notes that they have paid for levee work in low-lying areas around Sacramento -- places at risk of flooding -- even though developers continue to build homes there.

  Canciamilla also envisions bringing the county and BIMID together to discuss alternative sources of money. If the county embraces the idea of fostering development on Bethel Island, the question then arises whether it will collect developer fees to defray the cost of levee repairs and maintenance, Canciamilla said. The answer matters because the state and federal agencies that control the purse strings for levee projects don't all agree on whether communities where new homes are going in should receive government money when they can generate the revenue through developer fees, he said.

  While helping local decision-makers sort out these and other issues, Canciamilla will do what he can to ensure that BIMID meets the criteria that will determine who gets how much of the state bond revenue that voters approved in November. He also will work the contacts he made during his time in Sacramento to promote BIMID's interests.

• CLICK HERE TO REVIEW THE SunCal Companies Presentation given at Scout Hall, April 24, 2007, on their proposed on-island water project.   Additional information will be posted here as available.

• Emergency Evacuation Signs:  In the unlikely event of an emergency there are a total of 13 rally points that currently all have EVACUATION ROUTE SIGNS in place at the street entrance to the following marinas: San joaquin YC, Mariner Cove Marina, Caliente Harbor, Anchor Marina, D'Anna Yacht Center, Emerald pointe Marina, Frank's Marina, Lundborg Landing, Sugar Barge Marina, Russo's Marina, Beacon Harbor, Bethel Harbor and Willowest Harbor. The community thanks these businesses for there cooperation! Emergency planning will remain a high priority for our community, if you would like to volunteer to assist the community during an emregency please call the BIMID office (925) 684-2210 and leave your name, address and phone number, you will be contacted.  

• Levee Safety & Reliability Presentation (Click Here to View the Slide Show)
  Bethel Island Municipal Improvement District engineers and staff are working on an engineering assessment of the safety and reliability of the existing levee on Bethel Island.  A presentation is planned to present the results from the assessment .  The presentation will include a discussion of several alternatives for improving the existing safety of the levee. This safety & risk evaluation has been ongoing for months. The Districts two engineering firms were asked to assemble various past and present engineering studies that are applicable today and to assemble them into a single presentation. The district will use this information when setting there construction priorities.
• 02/14/2007-The meeting was well attended and from this writers point of view.  It was a very well presented and informative presentation thanks to our engineer, Kevin Tillis. From comments heard from the audience at the conclusion, levee issues were well defined and understood and corrective measures are being taken. An ad hock committee has been selected and will consider a broad range of options in developing a "FIVE YEAR PLAN." Those meetings will be posted in this website under "Agenda & Minutes" and the "Calendar." Last night's full presentation will be put on this website just as soon as we can. Hard copies are available in the BIMID Office.
• Levee Assessment & Conceptual Design Report 2/26/07

• FOR SALE:  American Red Cross, All in One Self Powered Radio (CLICK HERE TO ORDER)
  • Self powered hand crank generator
  • Super bright built-in flashlight and siren
  • Cell phone charger
  • 3 AA batteries (not included) recharges built-in Ni-MH battery pack
  • Dimensions:  6½ W x 6 H x 2½ D, 1# 3 oz
  • $50.00

• BIMID is seeking volunteers from the Bethel Island area to assist the district & it's employees in times of emergency. Click Here to complete the form to volunteer.

• Contra Costa County Public Works Department has filed for an approval of a replacement Bridge across Dutch Slough to Bethel Island. Click Here for Details.

• New Contra Costa County Ordinance No. 2005-02 -- "Vessel Sanitation and Mooring".
• Please click here to read the ordinance.

• BEAVERS:

  BIMID now has a contract with a company, Animal Damage Control located on Bethel Island. The licensed trapper has been trapping beavers since early 2005. The following beavers have been trapped: 

• 2007
  • January - 9
  • February -7
  • March - 7
  • April - 3
  • May - 4
  • June - 0
• 2006 - 46
• 2005 - 85

If you suspect you have a beaver problem, you should call the BIMID Office at 684-2210 to report it. Signs of beaver activity include spotting a beaver in the water or on the levee, the disappearance of the tulles, or the flattening of the tulles along the water side of the levee, chewed off branches from bushes/trees, or wood on the dock being chewed away. Beavers can be very destructive so please report any suspected beaver activity to the BIMID Office.

WARNING -- THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME, PROHIBITS REMOVING OR TAMPERING WITH ANIMAL TRAPS PLACED ON PRIVATE LAND OR PRIVATE PROPERTY, WHERE A LICENSED TRAPPER HAS PERMISSION TO WORK. INDIVIDUALS WHO TAMPER WITH SUCH TRAPS FACE MISDEMEANOR CHARGES AND ARE SUBJECT TO UP TO SIX MONTHS IN PRISON AND OR $1,000.00 IN FINES.