The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of a 1.35-acre parcel of land located near the Dry Creek Parkway in north Sacramento County on Sept. 30. The purchase will add important acreage to the Parkway and help keep the Parkway clear of structures for smart floodplain management.
“Keeping the Dry Creek Parkway clear of development has multiple benefits, including the preservation of open space, improving flood control and providing recreation areas for the public,” said Jill Ritzman, Deputy Director for Regional Parks.
The parcel, located in Rio Linda, was purchased for $270,000 by the Department of Regional Parks, in cooperation with the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA), the Sacramento Valley Conservancy (SVC) and the Sacramento County Department of Water Resources. The voter-approved “Safe Drinking Water, Clean Water, Watershed Protection and Flood Protection Act” was a source of funds granted by the California Department of Water Resources through the Flood Protection Corridor Program.
The Dry Creek Parkway consists of approximately six miles of valuable riparian habitat and open space, and it is one of the last major open space riparian corridors in the North County area. The Parkway also offers numerous recreational opportunities for County residents, including hiking, biking and horseback riding. The Board of Supervisors appointed a new Advisory Committee to oversee the completion of the Dry Creek Parkway Master Plan in 2000 to continue the work implementing the multiple goals of the initial Dry Creek Master Plan. These agencies will continue to purchase private properties from willing sellers located within the Dry Creek Parkway to ensure that these open spaces, which are prone to flooding, will not be developed in the future.