Tag Archive for: department of water resources

Some in the Sierra Still Optimistic Despite Below-Average Snowpack

/in , /by /Fox 40 Newsby Lonnie Wong

Last month, the state’s snow survey team saw snow levels just shy of average and on Thursday the trend continued downward.

“Seventy-nine percent of an average February and 58% of the April 1 average here at this location,” said Sean de Guzman, chief of the Department of Water Resources’ Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Section.

Along with measurements taken at the station near Echo Summit, measurements at 260 other locations indicate the snowpack is below average.

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State Increases Water Allocations for Year

/in , , /by /Appeal Democrat

The Department of Water Resources announced it would be increasing its allocations to 15 percent for State Water Project participants this year, which reflects a 5 percent increase to the state’s initial estimation in December. 

Yuba City is one of 29 agencies that are part of the State Water Project. The project’s largest reservoir in Lake Oroville.

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Aging Oroville Dam Spillway Gates Draw Concern

/in , /by /Enterprise-Record (Chico, Calif.)by Robin Epley

Despite increased maintenance of Oroville Dam since the spillway fell apart in February 2017, members of the community-led Oroville Dam Ad Hoc Group have expressed concern about the age and wear of mechanics within the spillway’s main gates, citing similar failures on dams of the same era.

The Department of Water Resources convened a meeting Nov. 13 of the Oroville Dam Ad Hoc Group — an organization comprised of local elected officials and stakeholders appointed by state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama) and Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) — as part of the Oroville Dam Safety Comprehensive Needs Assessment that was initiated by the DWR after the spillway crumbled.

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Opinion: Groundwater Sustainability And Climate Action

/in , /by /Coastal View by Robert McDonald

On a day to day basis, we stay busy repairing water main breaks, helping our customers find leaks and providing safe drinking water, but we also devote a lot of time to planning for the future. It is important that we look ahead so we can successfully manage our water resources and implement necessary infrastructure projects in order to meet our customers’ future water needs and maintain a resilient water delivery system in the face of aging infrastructure. Currently, the district is directing a lot of our efforts to the formation of a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) and developing a Climate Action Plan.

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