Despite drought, agencies train to fight floods

California may be in the midst of a historic drought, but keeping skills fresh for a potential flood was the goal of a training event Wednesday for several Valley agencies.

Filling a sandbag is not as easy as it may seem: If it’s not done right, there could be consequences, said Rick Burnett, a flood-fighting specialist with the California Department of Water Resources and Division of Flood Management who ran the training.

“There’s always a right way and a wrong way to do things, even from the basics of filling sandbags,” Burnett said. “You could have significant results if you do it the wrong way. It could be bad.”

Employees from Merced city and county, Fresno, Los Banos, Stanislaus County and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection practiced filling sandbags only one-third full, laying them to create a watertight fit, controlling overtopping of a levee or stream, and protecting against erosion. The first part of the training was in a classroom setting, but the employees also received real-world training at a levee near Duck Slough off Sandy Mush Road in Merced County.

Having the variety of agencies work together during the training served a twofold purpose, said Jeremy Rahn, battalion chief for Merced County’s Office of Emergency Services. In case of an emergency, neighboring counties and cities can work together and assist each other; those employees will then train volunteers during an emergency.

“The local experts are key,” Rahn said. “The state will come in with resources like material and personnel. But they rely on locals who know the region.”

Reggie Hill, manager of the Lower San Joaquin Valley Levee District, said in the case of a flood, the district relies heavily on volunteers. The district has eight employees maintaining 192 miles of levees from Kerman in Fresno County to Stevinson in Merced County.

Richard Chaparro, a supervisor for the city of Merced’s sewer division, said about 15 employees from his department participated in the training. At least five of them were new and never had the training before. “In the last couple years, there hasn’t been as much emphasis on this training,” he said. “But we’re doing it anyway. These guys can’t get enough training.”

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Despite drought, agencies train to fight floods."