More water is set to be released from Nimbus Dam Thursday, and water flows will increase from 3,500 cubic feet per second to 15,000.

Farther downstream, park rangers are warning people to move to higher ground, ahead of the release and the next storm. They also closed access to several parks that are prone to flooding:

• American River Parkway Trail, between mile 0.5 and mile 2.5, then at mile 20.5
• All islands on the American River, between Hazel Avenue and Discovery Park
• North of Discovery Park, between the boat launch and Garden Highway
• Howe and Watt avenues access points

Vehicles and pedestrians are not allowed into parks when they are closed. Violators could be arrested, Sacramento County Chief Park Ranger Michael Doane said.

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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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