Cracks, Clogged Drains, Broken Valves Among Litany Of Problems At California’s Dams
Cracked concrete. Plugged drains. Unchecked tree and brush growth. Broken outlet valves. These are some of the problems that have gone uncorrected for years at California dams in spite of being flagged repeatedly by inspectors from the state Department of Water Resources. The sample below is based on a Sacramento Bee analysis of five years of inspection reports at the 93 dams singled out for further review by state officials following the February crisis at Oroville Dam. All of the dams mentioned below are classified as “high hazard” by the state because of their proximity to people living downstream.