Level Up Audio Project

Streambeds are vital ecosystems that can both serve and threaten the communities they run through. Because of the sensitivity of the ecosystems and the potential for increased flooding, stream work requires permits. Securing permits can be time consuming and costly. In this episode, Roland Sanford from the Solano County Water Agency in California shares how his agency works with local landowners to provide microgrants for flood mitigation work and technical assistance to aid in the process to secure permits.

When you ask emergency managers and city planners what they need to make their community more resilient to disaster, most have the same answer: money. Federal and state grants can help finance projects, but the requirements can be labor intensive and often require a financial match from the community. Carolyn Steffan from the City of Tehama in California stitched together funding from multiple sources—federal and state—to protect residents from flooding by elevating 39 homes in her city. Tune in to learn how she did it!

Most communities develop numerous planning documents to guide growth and development. These plans are often created and adopted in standalone processes, leading to fragmented implementation. Tiffany Wise West, the Sustainability and Climate Action Manager for the City of Santa Cruz, California, managed to avoid that trap and developed a Climate Adaptation Plan in conjunction with the city’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. In this episode, she discusses the benefits and challenges of the plan integration process.

Hazard mitigation efforts often focus on property and infrastructure, but every community’s most important resource is its people. Lucas Zucker, the policy and communications director for the California-based organization Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, or CAUSE, talks about ways communities can support low-income and immigrant populations before, during, and after hazard events. To learn more about FEMA assistance programs and eligibility, please visit https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2019/07/16/fact-sheet-financial-disaster-aid-available-us-citizens-non-citizen.