More than $1 billion in flood control improvements will come to the Sacramento region in upcoming years, reducing chances for any area to be remapped into a flood-prone status.

The $1.6 billion in federal funds approved earlier this month will also reduce the chances of a building moratorium being instituted for a low-lying area. A moratorium from late 2008 to mid-2015 brought construction to a halt for the Natomas basin area of Sacramento.

Rick Johnson, executive director of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, said the new funding is on top of $1.1 billion in federal money authorized for similar purposes about two years ago.

“Basically, what this does is finish the rest of the levee system that wasn’t covered then,” he said.

In the new round of funding, the Sacramento River in Sacramento and West Sacramento south of where it meets the American River would see levee improvements. So would Arcade Creek and the Natomas East Main Drainage Canal, while other work would focus on erosion control. The Sacramento Bypass and Weir would also be expanded, Johnson said.

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