Yuba Water Agency and Reclamation District 784 staff meet with University of California CITRIS researchers during a 2024 field tour of a levee along the Feather River. The research partnership is testing new technology to help monitor levee conditions and identify potential maintenance concerns. Photo by Bonnie Mettler/Yuba Water

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - New technology deployed along Yuba County levees could help local officials identify animal burrows, hidden seepage and other potential problems before they develop into larger maintenance concerns.

Yuba Water Agency and University of California researchers have spent the past two years testing drones, LiDAR and ground-based sensors at 18 sites along the Feather and Bear rivers and Dry Creek in southern Yuba County.

The research stems from a $360,000 grant Yuba Water awarded in 2024 to the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute, known as CITRIS. The center draws researchers from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz.

The monitoring sites fall within Reclamation Districts 784 and 2103, which help reduce flood risk for Linda, Olivehurst, Plumas Lake and Wheatland, along with surrounding agricultural and commercial areas.

“Despite the devastating flooding we experienced in 1986 and 1997, today Yuba County has some of the most modern urban levees in the state thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars in local, state and federal investments,” Yuba Water Flood Risk Manager Sami Nall said.

Nall said the research focuses not only on the condition of the levees today, but how agencies can maintain them decades into the future.

“But we want to feel the same confidence in the integrity of the system in 25, 30 or even 50 years from now,” Nall said. “Protecting that investment means continuing to monitor the health of our levees, using the best tools available and with proactive maintenance. That’s exactly what this research is helping us do.”

Researchers presented an update to the Yuba Water Board of Directors on Aug. 18, explaining how drones equipped with LiDAR and other sensors can produce detailed three-dimensional models of levees. Ground-based sensors and surveys help verify information gathered from the air.

The technology could allow levee managers to examine long stretches more efficiently while directing field crews to locations that warrant closer inspection.

One application involves detecting animal burrows, which can weaken levees. Researchers used aerial data to identify areas with potential clusters of burrows, allowing maintenance crews to concentrate inspections and repairs in those locations.

Researchers also combined aerial and subsurface data to identify areas where seepage could occur beneath a levee. Such conditions can be difficult to detect during traditional inspections before visible signs develop.

The collected information can also create a “digital twin,” a computerized representation of a levee that researchers can update over time. Managers could use the models to track changes and examine how portions of the levee system could respond during future storms and periods of high water.

“Levees are complex systems that change,” Nall said. “The more information we have about their condition, the better equipped we are to maintain them and help protect the communities that depend on them for years to come.”

Yuba Water does not own or maintain Yuba County’s levees. Local levee and reclamation districts hold that responsibility, while the agency provides coordination and financial support for monitoring and maintenance.

Patrick Meagher, general manager of Reclamation District 784, said the technology would supplement rather than replace inspections by crews.

“We look at this as an additional tool to enhance what is already a very robust maintenance program,” Meagher said. “We’re not going to stop walking the levees because we have technology. But this is another way to ensure the levees stay safe, secure and structurally sound.”

Following the presentation, Yuba Water board members encouraged staff to develop recommendations for potentially expanding the technology to other levees in the county.

Board Director Renick House, who also represents District 2 on the Yuba County Board of Supervisors, pointed to his experience growing up in Arboga, which suffered significant flooding in 1997.

“Anything that gives us a little more confidence and security in our levee system is really a great benefit,” House said. “Having grown up in Arboga, which suffered significant flooding in 1997, there is no question that having this information at our fingertips is invaluable.”

The preliminary digital twin platform is available at http://leveedigitaltwin.org. Additional information about Yuba Water’s flood risk reduction work is available at yubawater.org, while information about CITRIS research is available at http://citris-uc.org