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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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Did The Drought Contribute To Severe Flooding In San Jose? Officials Search For Answers

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Rong-Gong Lin II, Veronica Rocha and Matt Stevens

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.

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NASA Satellite Photos Show Effects Of Rain In California

/in /by /KTLA (Los Angeles)

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.

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