Interested in playing a role in ensuring that all residents of San Joaquin County are protected from potential floodwaters?

Then the San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency wants you.

The agency, which aims to study, plan, and implement flood protection projects for the safety of the nearly 750,000 residents of the county, is currently seeking qualified applicants for potential appointment to its board of directors as a public board member.

The online application, which can be found by visiting www.sjafca.com, will be available until Dec. 14 at 5 p.m.

Formed in 1995 as a Joint Powers Authority between the County of San Joaquin, the City of Stockton and the San Joaquin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District for the purpose of addressing flood control for Stockton and the surrounding county areas, the agency has since expanded to include other municipalities in the county that have a stake in ensuring that the levees along the San Joaquin River protect both existing residents and future development.

In November of 2017 the JPA was expanded to include both the cities of Manteca and Lathrop – both of whom are affected by the Reclamation District 17 levee that holds back the San Joaquin River – and the board of directors was reformatted to allow for all agencies to have a vote in official business. The board currently consists of one member of the San Joaquin Flood Control and Water Conservation District, one member of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, two members each from the Stockton, Manteca and Lathrop City Councils and a public member that either lives or works within the county.

That public member, which can be appointed by a simple majority of the other Board members, is what is currently being sought.

The agency, which began as an effort to prevent the disaccreditation of area levees and to bolster them in order to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines, must now also contend with new California regulations like Senate Bill 5, which requires a 200-year level of flood protection. The development has become an issue of the utmost importance to cities like Manteca and Lathrop since development within the 200-year flood plain – which, in Lathrop’s case, is the entire city limits – cannot continue unless the work is completed, or the state agrees that adequate progress is being made towards completion.

For additional information about SJAFCA, or to obtain the relevant application and statement of economic interests required by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, visit the agency’s website at www.sjafca.com.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.