The 2016-2017 winter season dropped plenty of snow in the Rockies. For years, the decade and a half drought across southern Nevada and the lower Colorado River Basin has impacted water levels at Lake Mead, creating what locals have long dubbed “the bathtub ring.” Nevada is still considered to be in a drought, but the accumulation in snowpacks has experts hopeful about the health of Lake Mead. However, the state’s not out of the clear.
Throughout the past couple weeks, I’ve felt almost as if I needed to build an ark to get to class. The greater Los Angeles area has been slammed with copious amounts of rain this season. During these monsoons, my trek from De Neve Holly all the way to Bunche Hall has been nothing short of a drenched, waterlogged nightmare. During this wet, wet winter quarter, you name it, we’ve seen it: soaked backpacks, umbrellas turned inside out, disgruntled and sopping wet students
The plan to remove four hydroelectric dams to improve fish passage and water quality on the Klamath River is proceeding on schedule for a 2020 demolition time, according to plan proponents. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will ultimately have to approve or deny the plan, and the change in administration in Washington, D.C., has led to three of the five seats on the commission being vacated. President Donald Trump will be responsible for appointing the three new members, but plan proponents such as the dams’ owning company PacifiCorp, do not believe this will affect the project’s timeline.
From the 188,000 Oroville residents who were evacuated two weeks ago, to the 14,000 in San Jose who had to be rescued from contaminated water, no Californian has been unaffected by the historic storms beating down on our state. Sometimes it feels like it will never end, reminding us of past floods and the challenges that result from so much water coming in such a short period.
Recent rains have not washed away the growing threat of water scarcity in the San Joaquin Valley, California’s largest agricultural region. Over time it could bring disruptive changes not only to the region’s farmers but also to rural communities, the local economy, and the state as a whole. Resolving this problem will take creativity and cooperation.
After 1,892 days, the drought is over in San Joaquin County. That’s the conclusion of the federal government, which Thursday morning issued new maps showing the entire county — and indeed, 79 percent of the state — free from any kind of drought designation. For San Joaquin, it is the first time since Dec. 27, 2011. Portions of San Joaquin had still been considered “abnormally dry” heading into this week, but the U.S. Drought Monitor lifted that finding Thursday, citing an improvement in groundwater levels across the San Joaquin Valley.
Two things ought to come to mind in California when President Trump says he plans to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure. And no, they’re not “Oroville” and “San Jose,” although those are good clues. The first is that if the federal government is going to prioritize vast new infrastructure spending, California’s water projects should be near the top of the list. Bring it on. Much of the Sacramento Valley was threatened last month when high water levels at the massive Oroville Dam caused torrents to flow down damaged or poorly built spillways.
How much did the recent series of rain storms in California contribute to lessening the state’s drought conditions? The National Weather Service office in San Diego tweeted a satellite photo showing California finally “greening up”. NWS San Diego also tweeted changes at Lake Hodges. A 2014 photo shows an area of the lake completely dry. A March 1, 2017 comparison photo shows the lake filled with water.
In a development that would ease pressure on Oroville Dam’s badly damaged concrete spillway, state officials say the dam’s power plant may be operational by midday Friday. The Hyatt Power Plant stopped functioning as a massive mound of concrete, earth and debris formed in the channel below the 3,000-foot concrete spillway, which fractured Feb. 7.
A power plant at the foot of the Oroville Dam, closed last month after a portion of the reservoir was overwhelmed by rising waters, could begin tests as early as Friday in anticipation of reopening, state water officials said. The Hyatt power plant, which provides drinking water and power and helps the Department of Water Resources control water levels at the state’s second largest reservoir, has been offline since the emergency that led to evacuations.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
