Officials in Shasta County are preparing to apply for federal emergency management funds to repair a dam from which they can no longer release water, that officials say is in danger of flooding during a major storm event.
Twenty miles west of Redding, near the communities of Igo and Ono, the Misselbeck Dam holds back the Rainbow Lake reservoir. In 2018 the Carr fire burned up the vegetation surrounding the 12-acre reservoir.
With winter rains on their way, officials worry a dam that creates a small lake 17 miles west of Redding could collapse, inundating downstream homes with up to 20 feet of water if sediment and debris clogging two outlet pipes is not cleared.
Two 30-inch outlet pipes at Misselbeck Dam have been clogged with silt and debris since last summer, forcing water from Rainbow Lake to flow over the top of a deteriorated 100-year-old spillway, said Charles Tucker, president of the Igo-Ono Community Services District, which owns the dam.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
