The Oroville Dam has been making headlines for decades, but especially since a damaged spillway in February forced the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people. Here are some things you may not know about the dam: 1. It’s the tallest dam in the U.S. At 770 feet high, the Oroville Dam tops Hoover Dam and downtown Sacramento office towers. It fares less well against the world’s tallest dams – the Jinping-I Dam in China towers over it at 1,001 feet.
Yes, a cold rainy day in Sacramento in June is unusual. But hardly unprecedented. The mild storm that greeted morning commuters Thursday was the first June rainfall in Sacramento in two years, when two days of wet weather briefly interrupted the drought. Before that, the last time it rained in Sacramento in June was in 2013. In fact, Sacramento gets an average of nearly two-tenths of an inch of rain in June, according to the National Weather Service.
As the drought drags on, South Coast agencies are scrambling to lay the groundwork for a potable water supply that may one day be the region’s largest, after Lake Cachuma: purified and recycled wastewater. For the past 25 years, a small amount of wastewater from sinks, tubs and toilets has been treated and sprayed on the turf at golf courses, schools and parks in Santa Barbara and the Goleta Valley – fewer than 100 sites overall. It’s not suitable for drinking, but it keeps the grass green.
It should surprise no one that water is costlier in San Diego County than in many other parts of the state and nation. After all, we are at the literal end of the pipeline in a semi-arid region of 3.3 million people with few significant lakes, rivers or groundwater aquifers. What is surprising is the continued insistence by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that it will take care of San Diego County’s water needs.
The recent drought brought record high temperatures and record low precipitation, pushed numerous native fish species to the brink of extinction and led to unusually large drops in groundwater levels. But the biggest milestone for urban areas was the state’s unprecedented order to cut water use by an average of 25 percent. This mandate was a blunt instrument. It didn’t reflect how well prepared most urban suppliers were, or their willingness to further reduce water use when needed.
School districts should test drinking water supplies for lead during summer vacation, the Water Quality Association said. Water studies and media reports over the past school year show lead exposures is an ongoing concern nationwide, stemming primarily from aging infrastructure, especially in rural parts of California. “Many more states are requiring schools to test their drinking water,” said Pauli Undesser, WQA executive director. “We believe schools can take advantage of the summer month to conduct a thorough test in accordance with their state’s laws or guidelines and determine if specific water treatment is required. It should be a top priority.”
The California Department of Water Resources said work on the Lake Oroville Spillway has reached a milestone. The project’s independent Board of Consultants approved design plans for the soon-to-be-built structure. The Department also announced Wednesday the spillway is shut down for the summer, and will not open again until needed during the next rainy season. DWR’s David Gutierrez said rain in Thursday’s forecast won’t present a problem.
The recent drought brought record high temperatures and record low precipitation, pushed numerous native fish species to the brink of extinction and led to unusually large drops in groundwater levels. But the biggest milestone for urban areas was the state’s unprecedented order to cut water use by an average of 25 percent. By some measures, the conservation mandate was a great success. From June 2015 to February 2016, Californians reduced water use by 24 percent compared to the same months in 2013 – more than double the savings achieved under a voluntary program in 2014.
Water conservation figures for April released this week show the state’s urban residents used 21.7 percent less water than in April 2013, the year used as the pre-drought benchmark. Local water agencies did much better, with most reporting savings more than double the state average. The Water Resources Control Board released the information Tuesday. The Paradise Irrigation District led the local group with a 56.8 percent reduction compared to April 2013. Water use was calculated at 69 gallons per person per day.
It’s an endless winter in the West. Snow from the barrage of storms that pounded the western mountains over the winter is still on the ground. Many mountains in the Rockies, Sierra and Cascades are packed with at least 8 feet of snow, the National Weather Service said, creating a dream summer for skiers and snowboarders. The Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., is seeing its “best spring conditions in decades … and will be operating DAILY into August for one of our longest seasons in history,” the resort said on its website.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
