California is not just fighting nature as it attempts to repair the nation’s tallest dam, badly damaged last month by surging storm waters. It’s also racing the clock. Safety experts say there is no time for delay in a state plan to restore the 770-foot Oroville Dam, and they warn California would face a “very significant risk” if a damaged spillway is not in working order by fall, the start of the next rainy season.
Farmers in a vast agricultural region of California will receive a significantly greater amount of irrigation water this summer compared to past drought years — but not their full supply, federal officials announced Wednesday. Record winter rain and snow in some parts of California have put a major dent in the five-year drought, boosting reservoirs with irrigation water for use during hot, dry months. Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley will receive 65 percent of what they expect from a federal system of reservoirs and canals, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said.
It will be costly and the process complicated, but joining state water adds reliability to a system facing numerous pressures. That was the consensus reached between the heads of five area water agencies, who on Wednesday took part in a forum focused on connecting to the State Water Project. Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett moderated the panel, which addressed issues including construction, environmental impacts and associated costs of the project.
California farmers have a sympathetic president in the White House and have enjoyed one of the wettest winters on record. But those in a giant swath of the San Joaquin Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country, are due to get only two-thirds of their water allotment this year from the federal government.
The majestic beauty of California’s Sierra Nevada never fails to impress. But the mountain range, which stretches hundreds of miles, is much more than a stunning vista. It’s a linchpin that helps make living in an arid state possible. That’s because one of California’s most important water supplies is melted snow. Each spring and summer, the Sierra sends runoff down its slopes that recharges rivers and reservoirs, allowing crops to be irrigated and drinking glasses to be filled.
The good news is that not a drop of Kern River water is going into the California Aqueduct to fill Southern California taps. Yet. But water managers are keeping an eagle eye on the snowpack and the weather hoping there are no sudden moves from either in the near future. A warm rain or rapid run-up in temps could bring a huge slug of water down and overwhelm ongoing efforts to squirrel it away, said Kern River Watermaster Dana Munn. “It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s such a big water year and we’ve managed to push water into all these places.”
In the nearly 50 years since the Oroville Dam was completed, construction methods have changed. Chico State University construction management professor Chris Souder consulted on the Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway project which began construction in 2008 and is on pace to be completed in October. He also got a tour March 1 of the work going on at the Oroville Dam through the engineering contractor Syblon Reid out of Folsom. Souder said he wanted to take his college students to show them what their future careers might entail, but the Department of Water Resources wouldn’t allow it.
The majestic beauty of California’s Sierra Nevada never fails to impress. But the mountain range, which stretches hundreds of miles, is much more than a stunning vista. It’s a linchpin that helps make living in an arid state possible. That’s because one of California’s most important water supplies is melted snow. Each spring and summer, the Sierra sends runoff down its slopes that recharges rivers and reservoirs, allowing crops to be irrigated and drinking glasses to be filled.
An increase in temperatures has the ability to reduce the flow of water in the Colorado River by 20 to 30 percent by mid-century, according to new research done by Colorado State University and the University of Arizona. The research done by Bradley Udall, a senior water and climate scientist for CSU, and UA professor Jonathan Overpeck, found that loss of water is driven by higher temperatures arising from an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
The first wet storm of the spring is moving into the Sierra where record snowfall already has reservoirs releasing water early to guard against potential flooding in northern Nevada well into the summer. The National Weather Service says 4 to 8 inches of snow is possible Tuesday on the highest mountain passes, including the Mount Rose Highway southwest of Reno and Donner Pass on Interstate 80, west of Truckee, California.
