Floods Archives - Page 3 of 9

dams • Floods

NEWS RELEASE: Pine Flat Dam releases water over spillway, but that doesn’t mean the lake is “full”

June 29, 2023

• by SJV Water

* The following news release was provided by the Kings River Conservation District: As Pine Flat Reservoir’s water storage increases and the lake level rises, it eventually reaches a point where the dam’s gated spillway, located at the highest operational point, is used. That level is approximately 85% of gross pool. Water management officials expect…

Drought • Floods

It may be a record wet year but the state is still dolling out millions to prep for California’s next drought

June 16, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Even as some San Joaquin Valley communities still have flood damage to fix, new drought preparedness funding has been awarded by the state. Millions of dollars are going to local groundwater agencies for farmland retirement and repurposing. And some funding will help update infrastructure in small communities. The state Department of Water Resources announced on…

Floods

Kern River flows ramping down thanks to cool weather but will remain strong through the fall

June 9, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Cooler weather has slowed the anticipated snowmelt above Lake Isabella enough that outflows from the dam will ramp down to 6,500 cubic feet per second starting Sunday, according to Kern River Water Master Mark Mulkay. “We’ve been watching the snow surveys and weather up there and think we’re in really good shape to be able…

Floods

Flooding in Firebaugh has come in a slow, relentless creep as high San Joaquin River flows seep through levees into basements, ruin crops and leave land too sodden to farm

June 9, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The surging San Joaquin River is proving to be another tough water management problem. The raging waters from this year’s historic rain and snowpack are seeping through levees, destroying crops and threatening the city of Firebaugh. The small city of Firebaugh in Fresno County, sits right up against the river. Seepage is the major problem,…

Drinking Water • Drought • Floods

Domestic wells still going dry in San Joaquin Valley towns as historically low groundwater levels are slow to rebound

June 8, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The small town of Tooleville ran out of water and started receiving water hauled in by truck on June 5. It’s the first time the town has needed hauled water since October of 2022. Despite the historic snowpack and storms this year, groundwater levels in some areas are still low and wells are still going…

Floods

Floodplain projects are “foreign concept” for the south valley

May 26, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

One of the surest ways to corral flooding on the valley floor is floodplain restoration – letting rivers spread out over large swaths of undeveloped land to slow their flow and absorb the water. But even as cities and farms throughout the southern San Joaquin Valley brace for more flooding from an epic snowmelt after…

Floods • Uncategorized

Big melt may be less dramatic – and damaging – than initially thought

May 22, 2023

• by Lois Henry

State flood responders are still planning for the worst, but newly released inundation models are predicting a less dramatic and damaging snow melt as California heads into the summer months. On the Kern River, predictions are now showing releases from Isabella Dam can be maintained at 7,750 cubic feet per second, or less, throughout the rest…

Floods

Kern River headed to intertie Saturday after brief delay

May 18, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Kern River water is expected to go into the intertie, which connects the river to the California Aqueduct, starting Saturday morning. The goal is to keep more flood water from reaching the already flooded Tulare Lake bed in Kings County. The plan had been to begin dumping Kern River water at 500 cubic feet per…

Floods • Uncategorized

Kern County makes river flood maps available to the public

May 17, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Kern River is rising fast and, so far, the public hasn’t been given very good information on the one question on everyone’s mind: Where’s it going to flood? Wednesday, the Kern County Office of Emergency Services put out detailed, locally built maps that attempt to answer that question under various flow scenarios. The upshot…

Floods

Battle of the berms: Farmers build maze of levees to protect land as snow melt heads for Tulare Lake

May 16, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Growers and water managers in the Tulare Lake area have been moving mountains of dirt to beef up levees and build entirely new ones as they brace for snowmelt this summer. A string of storms in March battered the region, blowing out levees and overwhelming infrastructure as flood water plowed through homes, dairies and crops….

NEWS

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