California Needs $17 Billion for Levee Repairs

California needs to spend $17 billion to repair levees because more than half of these structures are substandard, according to a flood plan from the state Department of Water Resources. “The system is based on antiquated technologies, so you have to upgrade it and keep in mind changing societal demands. Modern flood control is wickedly complicated, because it has to take into account a lot of factors,” said Jeffrey Mount, a professor at the University of California, Davis.