‘Expect More’: Climate Change Raises Risk of Dam Failures
Engineers say most dams in the United States, designed decades ago, are unsuited to a warmer world and stronger storms.
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Lake Hodges Dam Opens Its Floodgates
/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /The Escondido Grapevineby dweismanIn an unusual move necessitated by last week’s prodigious record-setting rainfall, Lake Hodges Reservoir this week opens its valves sending millions of gallons of water down the San Dieguito Riverbed towards the Pacific Ocean.
KRRC: Dam Removal Project is ‘On Track’ and Within Budget
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Taft Midway DrillerThe Klamath River Renewal Corporation announced on Monday that they have submitted requested documentation to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that demonstrates that they have sufficient funds to complete the removal of four dams on the Klamath River. Last week, KRRC announced that they’ve hired a company to ensure all the various phases of the project run smoothly and “in concert with one another.” KRRC selected McMillen Jacobs Associates to provide what is referred to as “owner’s representation services.”
Reservoir Project in California Aims to Store Recycled Water
/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /The Capistrano Dispatchby Collin BreauxA reservoir and water dam project aiming to store recycled water is on track, according to water management officials.
The Santa Margarita Water District gave a tour of the Trampas Canyon Reservoir and Dam on Saturday, Nov. 16. Construction began in January 2018 and is expected to finish by 2020.
The dam and reservoir are south of Ortega Highway on land acquired from Rancho Mission Viejo. The reservoir is intended to hold 1.6 billion gallons of recycled water.
Is Renewable Energy’s Future Dammed?
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /High Country News (Paonia, Colo.)by Nick BowlinJust outside Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, a year-round, mineral-rich spring turns the Little Colorado River a vivid turquoise. This final stretch, about 10 miles from the river’s confluence with its larger relative, is one of the West’s spectacular waterways, with bright water flowing below steep red-rock cliffs. But the view will change dramatically if a Phoenix-based company builds a proposed hydropower project.
Army Corps of Engineers Speaks On Dam Failures
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Kern Valley Sunby Kathe MaloufThe history of dam safety and the lessons learned from previous failures was the topic of a presentation to the Kern River Valley Historical Society during their monthly meeting last week.
Anthony Burdock, Project Manager for the Isabella Dam Safety Modification Project, presented a program outlining catastrophic dam failures and how those failures were used to mold the dam safety regulations that now govern the nation’s dams, including Isabella Dam.
Environment Report Out On New $1 Billion Dam Proposed For Santa Clara County
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)by Paul RogersA plan to build a huge new $1.1 billion dam and reservoir near Pacheco Pass in southeastern Santa Clara County is taking a significant step forward with the release of hundreds of pages of environmental studies. The project, which would be the first new large dam built anywhere in the Bay Area since Los Vaqueros Reservoir in Contra Costa County in 1998, grew out of California’s recent five-year drought. Environmentalists have raised concerns about the project’s costs, and the fact that it would submerge 1,245 acres of oak woodlands on the north side of Highway 152 near Casa de Fruta — an area equal to about 943 football fields.
Fire-Ravaged Paradise Water Agency Faces State Ultimatum: Fix Your Cracked Dam Spillway
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Tony Bizjak and Dale KaslerJust months after California’s deadliest wildfire laid waste to the town of Paradise, hillside residents face yet another costly and potentially dangerous problem. State safety officials have downgraded the Magalia Dam on the hill above town to “poor” condition, and have ordered the dam’s owner to make interim repairs by November on the cracked spillway. It’s the latest in problem for the Paradise Irrigation District, which lost most of its revenue base in the Camp Fire and is still struggling to deliver potable water to its remaining customers. The fire tainted the district’s water supply with the chemical compound benzene, forcing almost all of the few thousand people who’ve returned to Paradise to drink bottled water.
Should Big Dams Count As Renewable Energy? California Democrats Divided
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Mercury Newsby Paul RogersFor motorists driving to Yosemite National Park from the Bay Area, Don Pedro Reservoir is a familiar sight. But the massive lake along Highway 120 just west of Groveland has taken on a new role recently: as a flashpoint in the debate over what should and shouldn’t count as renewable energy in California. The outcome of that debate could impact how much solar and wind energy is developed across the state in years to come.
Risk Level Raised On Integrity Of Dam In Southern California
/in Media Coverage, San Diego County, Uncategorized /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Louis SahagunFederal engineers are raising alarms that a “significant flood event” could compromise the spillway of Southern California’s aging Prado Dam and potentially inundate dozens of Orange County communities from Disneyland to Newport Beach. After conducting an assessment of the 78-year-old structure this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it is raising the dam’s risk category from “moderate” to “high urgency.” “Our concern right now is about the concrete slab of the spillway and how well it will perform if water were to spill over the top of the dam,” said Lillian Doherty, the Army Corps’ division chief. “We will determine whether or not it is as reliable as it should be.”
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
