Sutter County Flood Control Happy Hour

Please join the Sutter County Museum and Forging Resilience for a special speaker event about man-made and nature-based flood control measures in Sutter County.

Event Details

• Date: Friday, March 28, 2025
• Time: 5:30pm to 7pm
• Location: Sutter County Museum, 1333 Butte House Road, Yuba City, CA 95993
• Refreshments: Complimentary light appetizers, beer, and wine
• Parking: The Sutter County Museum has ample parking in its lot, with overflow parking lots available across the street at Veterans Hall (1425 Veterans Memorial Circle, Yuba City)
• RSVP by Thursday, March 27 at 5pm

Join us at the Sutter County Museum for an informative talk about flood control strategies. We will be joined by Michael Bessette, PE, Executive Director of the Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency (SBFCA), who will talk about floodplain management and risk reduction projects in the region.

Learn about the various methods used to prevent flooding of our lands and communities, from traditional man-made structures to innovative nature-based solutions. Discover how these approaches work together to protect communities and the environment, while offering boosts to local hunting and fishing spots. You will also learn about steps you can take to prevent flooding in your community.

Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights into flood control practices!

Event Agenda

5:30pm Doors open: light refreshments served, museum and Forging Resilience exhibits open

6:00pm Presentation begins, followed by Q&A

7:00pm Event ends

Our Speaker

Michael Bessette is the Executive Director for the Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency (SBFCA) since January 2019, and prior to that date was the Director of Engineering for SBFCA since August 2012. Mr. Bessette earned his bachelor of science in Civil Engineering from the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) in 1990, and is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in the State of California. He has extensive professional experience in flood protection throughout California.
As the Executive Director for the Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency, Mr. Bessette oversees large teams of engineers, environmental scientists, right of way agents, financial planners, construction managers and inspectors to complete a very aggressive public safety flood risk reduction project called the Feather River West Levee Project. This project is a 45-mile long levee improvement project with an estimated total project cost of approximately $440 million, which, when completed, will provide up to 200-year flood protection for an existing population of close to 100,000 people. The project involves extensive coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Water Resources, and numerous federal and state regulatory agencies. Mr. Bessette is also responsible for advancing additional flood risk reduction projects outlined in SBFCA’s board adopted Strategic Plan, as well as the administration, fiscal management, and governance of the Agency.

Forging Resilience & the Sutter County Museum

Forging Resilience is a project of the Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment, a research institute at the University of California Berkeley School of Law. Forging Resilience supports public libraries and museums as community anchors by providing free resources for building civic engagement around local environmental challenges. Organized into topical toolkits, these resources aid cultural institutions in the work they already do to build knowledge, understanding, and problem-solving skills within communities. Forging Resilience works to create a near future in which more individuals in more of our communities collaborate to address local environmental challenges.

Forging Resilience is partnering with the Sutter County Museum and Sutter County Library to develop a toolkit for the county. Tools in the kit include exhibits that will be on display alongside the museum's new permanent display on flooding in Sutter County, exhibits on display at Sutter County Library locations, and conversations and workshops on civic participation and local environmental challenges that will take place throughout the community.

We invite you to join our kickoff event to learn more about all that your museum and library are doing in the community and how Forging Resilience can help!

Host or Publisher Forging Resilience