The Upper Yolo Bypass Plan Interim Draft Plan (Plan) was a California Department of Water Resources and Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency product intended to guide future federal, state, and local investments in the Upper Yolo Bypass, the area between Fremont Weir and I-80.
The Upper Yolo Bypass Regional Planning and Coordination Process Purpose:
- To collect and document information to guide future modifications to the flood management infrastructure and habitat opportunities in that region;
- Include benefits to the local landscape and economy and meaningfully consider local impacts;
- Inform the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Yolo Bypass System Comprehensive Study.
The Upper Yolo Bypass Regional Planning and Coordination Process (Planning Process) was led by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA). The Upper Yolo Bypass Interim Draft Plan (Plan) is a DWR-SAFCA document intended to support the Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership Vision. DWR and SAFCA received input from the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Yolo County, Reclamation District 1600, and other local interested parties during the planning process, but their participation is not an endorsement of the Plan and its contents.
DWR and SAFCA began the Planning Process in 2023, focused on the area from Fremont Weir to I-80. The Planning Process was intended to collect and document information to guide future modifications to the flood management infrastructure and habitat opportunities in that region, so that they include benefits to the local landscape and economy and meaningfully consider local impacts.
The Planning Process was designed around the reality that local interested parties know their landscape best and should have input on changes to that landscape. During outreach meetings, the Planning Team (DWR, SAFCA, and their technical consultants) documented interested parties’ goals and objectives for the region, concerns about widening the Fremont Weir and altering the Tule Canal to ensure it continues to meet the drainage and irrigation function and improve habitat conditions, and specific improvement actions/projects desired in the Upper Yolo Bypass. This information is documented in the Upper Yolo Bypass Interested Party Feedback Memo and in the Interim Draft Plan which also includes conceptual level designs, costs, and hydraulics modeling results for the project concepts and alternatives.
The Planning Process is a first step meant to inform the much longer, five-year U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Yolo Bypass Comprehensive Study (Comp Study), for which a final report is anticipated in March 2029. The Interim Draft Plan includes two general options, or alternatives, for widening the Fremont Weir and three approaches to improving the drainage, irrigation, and ecological function of the Tule Canal. Concepts from the plan are being shared with the Corps to inform the Comp Study and used by the State to guide their own complementary engagement, planning, and project development decisions.
While the federal Comprehensive Study proceeds with its own analysis of potential flood management and ecosystem improvements in the region, DWR and SAFCA have decided to also conduct further analysis of two key challenges identified in the Interim Draft Plan: Reclamation District 1600 viability and potential long-term operations and maintenance options. This information will help inform ongoing discussions with interested parties on mechanisms to support landscape-wide resilience for the agricultural economy.
An Executive Summary of the draft plan is available here:
- Executive Summary – Upper Yolo Bypass Interim Draft Plan
- Additional materials are available on request
If you would like more information, Please contact:
- Melanie Saucier – SAFCA
- Megan Murray – HDR
