Billions of dollars in flood projects have eased fears of levee breaks near California’s capital and some other cities, but state and federal workers are joining farmers with tractors in round-the-clock battles this week to stave off any chain-reaction failure of rural levees protecting farms and farm towns.
While California’s other major dam has been the focus of national attention, the Shasta Dam was making history itself this week. For the first time in almost two decades, water was released Wednesday from the topmost gates of the dam impounding Lake Shasta, California’s largest reservoir, marking another milestone in what is shaping up to be the state’s wettest year on record.
A year ago, some Californians thought this day would never come. But, after being battered by weeks of record-setting rain, the vast majority of the state is out of drought. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, less than 20% of the state faces any drought conditions and no place in California faces “extreme” or “exceptional” drought. Parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties are still officially listed as being in serious drought.
For five long, drought-plagued winters, Mother Nature refused to refill Coyote Creek. Foliage filled its dry bed, and without regular rains, the vegetation remained in the creek rather than being flushed out to sea. Then an epic winter of rain hit Northern California, and the dry creek suddenly became wet again. This week, the creek swelled to record heights after water from a dam spilled into it, creating widespread flooding in central San Jose. Officials acknowledged they badly miscalculated how much flooding would occur, which left residents unprepared for the water that would inundate their neighborhoods.
Photos from NASA’s Earth Observatory show the aftereffects of massive amounts of rain on California’s hydrologic system. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says strong atmospheric rivers can transport 7.5 to 15 times the average water flow at the mouth of the Mississippi River. These flowing columns of condensed water vapor produce “significant levels of rain and snow,” and can account for 30-50% of the Pacific Coast’s rain and snow.
Consistent storms across California this year have helped improve drought conditions and bring above-average downpours to cities throughout the state. According to the Western Regional Climate Center, rainfall since Oct. 1, 2016—the beginning of the water year—is 120 percent to 200 percent of normal in regions across California. The heavy rainfall is a sign of relief for drought conditions throughout the state, which have continued to improve in 2017, according to weekly reports from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
After a nail-biting week of rain, it looks like the Oroville Dam spillway crisis is under control, for now. Downstream communities, including the nearly 200,000 people whose lives were disrupted by a two-day evacuation, will remain on alert as the large snowpack in the Northern Sierra (more than 150 percent of normal) begins to melt this spring.
A statewide downpour brought chaos to Californians this week, but it also provided some welcome relief to the state’s 20 million residents who have suffered from drought conditions for more than four years. The record precipitation now has some experts declaring the drought over. The drought began in 2012, but California Gov. Jerry Brown did not declare a drought state of emergency until January 2014. A response team was later established, and state lawmakers have allocated over $3 billion for drought relief and water management improvements.
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is planning to visit the Lake Oroville dam as crews work to shore up damaged spillways that forced emergency evacuations in three counties. The recently elected California Democrat will survey the damage and repair work by air on Thursday. She’ll also get a briefing from state officials, the Butte County sheriff’s office and the National Guard. The water level behind the dam began dropping Wednesday morning after it rose about 5 feet when a series of storms dumped rain in the area. The lake is still nearly 50 feet below capacity.
Water managers in a California community say they’re taking advantage of a break in storms to draw down water from behind a dam that is full, causing a creek to overflow and flood parts of San Jose. Jim Fiedler of the Santa Clara Valley Water District said Wednesday that Anderson Dam is full. Releases over its spillway have flooded neighborhoods in San Jose. The district is required to keep the dam 68 percent of capacity after inspections found that it could fail in a major earthquake.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
