Chipps Island levee break. Photo courtesy John Sweeney
PITTSBURG, CA - The owner of a private island in the Delta who found a quick and inexpensive way to repair a broken levee is trying to convince the federal government the technique could save lives and property elsewhere.
John Sweeney said a levee breach last summer threatened to inundate his 1,000 acre Chipps Island, which lies across the Sacramento River from Pittsburg.
Update: Feds reject Delta island owner's quick levee fix
"We first tried to fix it the old fashioned way by horseshoeing around it with dirt," Sweeney explained. "But every time we put the dirt on it, it would just wash back out at high tide."
Sweeney eventually floated a 40-foot steel shipping container out to the island and carefully sank it in the breach by filling it with mud.
He plans to replace the container with a permanent dirt or rock berm later this year.
Sweeney got the idea from news reports of shipping containers filled with gravel being used during the Hurricane Katrina crisis in New Orleans.
Sweeney was later surprised to get a letter from the US Army Corps of Engineers telling him placement of the shipping container in the levee may have violated the terms of a repair permit because it was not a recognized levee repair material.
Sweeney, 41, made his fortune by selling an outdoor advertising business in 2001 and owns a total of three Delta islands that are all at risk for future levee breaks.
He contacted News10 to publicize his levee fix in an attempt to gain official acceptance.
"If the Army Corps did a little research and saw this, I think this could be a widely-appreciated way to fix any levee break," Sweeney said.
The Corps of Engineers' San Francisco division did not immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment.
by George Warren, GWarren@news10.net
News10/KXTV