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Heaviest Storm In Seven Years Pushes Up Level Of Cachuma Lake By 31 Feet

/in /by /Santa Maria Timesby Mike Hodgson

One of the worst storms in a decade pounded the Santa Ynez Valley and surrounding areas Friday, dumping more than 4 inches of wind-lashed rain, downing trees and power lines, sending mud and water into homes, flooding roadways, and contributing to a slew of vehicle crashes, highway closures, flash flood watches and evacuation warnings. The Valley was expected to get a brief respite from rain midweek, but forecasters said a low pressure area could drop down from the north Saturday, bringing another round of high winds and heavy rain.

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‘Normal’ Never Better At New Melones, The Last Major Reservoir To Recover From Drought

/in /by /Record Net (Stockton)by Alex Breitler

Stubborn New Melones Lake finally decided to join the party. New Melones this week topped 100 percent of normal, the last of California’s major reservoirs to climb out of the deep drought hole. The giant reservoir is about 63 percent full, which is perfectly normal for this time of year with more storms possibly to come, and plenty of mountain snow that should melt later this spring. Just 14 months ago, New Melones was 11 percent full, or 20 percent of normal.

 

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Water Woes Need Bigger Fix

/in /by /The Signal (Santa Clarita)

California has always been a battleground for water. From Central Valley farmers to thirsty Southern Californians, our state is full of folks vying for their share of our most precious resource. Back in the state’s infancy, our leaders recognized this issue and took action to address it. They built an impressive network of dams and reservoirs, along with an unprecedented water-conveyance system to move water from the soggy north to the parched and populous southern regions. California was an innovator in technology even back then, when technology meant dams, aqueducts and other infrastructural modernisms.

 

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OPINION: How About Lifting The Water Restrictions?

/in /by /The Modesto Beeby Scott Langpap

Here’s a random thought: Instead of releasing all that water down the spillways of California’s dams, why not remove the water conservation restrictions on the public. Let us use that water instead of sending it to the ocean? No, your government knows better than you. Can’t lift the restrictions. Need a bullet train; don’t need more water storage.

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Federal, State Elected Officials Visit Oroville Dam

/in /by /KRCR News (Redding)by Taylor Torregano

On Thursday, state and federal officials were invited to Butte County to learn what happened at Oroville Dam, and to get an update on repair progress. A day prior, Governor Brown paid his own, quieter visit too. It was one Sheriff Kory Honea said he didn’t even know about until an hour before the Governor was there. Honea said they talked about public safety issues for about 15 minutes, then Governor Brown spoke with Department of Water Resources Acting Director Bill Croyle.

 

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Two Dams Reveal Challenge in Maintaining Older Designs

/in /by /Claims Journal (San Diego)by Michael R. Blood

Twelve years ago, widespread destruction from Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast helped compel federal engineers 2,000 miles away in California to remake a 1950s-era dam by constructing a massive steel-and-concrete gutter that would manage surging waters in times of torrential storms. The nearly $1 billion auxiliary spillway at Folsom Dam, scheduled to be completed later this year, stands in contrast to the troubles 75 miles away at the state-run Oroville Dam, where thousands of people fled last week after an eroded spillway threatened to collapse – a catastrophe that could have sent a 30-foot wall of floodwater gushing into three counties.

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America’s Aging Dams Are in Need of Repair

/in /by /The New York Timesby Troy Griggs, Gregor Aisch and Sarah Almukhtar

After two weeks that saw evacuations near Oroville, Calif., and flooding in Elko County, Nev., America’s dams are showing their age. Nearly 2,000 state-regulated high-hazard dams in the United States were listed as being in need of repair in 2015, according to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. A dam is considered “high hazard” based on the potential for the loss of life as a result of failure. By 2020, 70 percent of the dams in the United States will be more than 50 years old, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

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Rural California Levees Besieged By Pounding Wet Winter

/in /by /The Seattle Timesby Ellen Knickmeyer

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.

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Shasta Dam Makes History As Water Flows From Top Gates For First Time In 20 Years

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Joseph Serna

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.

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Most Of California Is Out Of The Drought

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Shelby Grad

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.

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