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From Shasta to Folsom, Shriveled Reservoirs Show Depths of California’s Drought Disaster

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler, Ryan Sabalow and Phillip Reese

Instead of being flush with newly melted snow, Folsom Lake is the driest it’s been in springtime since the epic drought of 1977. Water levels are so low that temporary pumps probably will be installed to help move water out of the stricken reservoir.

Water levels at Lake Oroville have plunged to the point that its giant hydropower plant could be idled for the first time ever this summer, putting additional strain on California’s troubled electric grid. At Shasta Lake, which feeds the Sacramento River watershed and much of the Central Valley, conditions are so bad that major cities are drawing up conservation plans, farmers have scaled back plantings and environmentalists are angrily warning of extensive fish kills.

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They Are Building 11,000 New Homes In Folsom. But Will There Be Enough Water?

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler, Ryan Sabalow and Tony Bizjak

It’s like a new city springing to life: 11,000 homes and apartments, seven public schools, a pair of fire stations, a police station, a slew of office and commercial buildings and 1,000 acres of parks, trails and other open space. Expected population: 25,000. But will it have enough water? As construction begins this month on the first model homes at Folsom Ranch, a 3,300-acre development in the city of Folsom south of Highway 50, state regulators continue to have questions about the project’s water supply.

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Inspector General: 2 US Dams At Risk Of ‘Insider Threats’

/in , /by /Associated Press by Kathleen Ronayne

Two dams critical to U.S. national security are at high risk for “insider threats” that could impair operations because of poor computer security practices such as too many employees having access to administrator accounts and failures to routinely change passwords, according to a new inspector general report.

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