[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 4/9/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

April 9, 2008

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People

 

LAKE ISABELLA DAM:

If one of the dams collapsed: Maps plot wet, worst-case scenario - Bakersfield Californian

 

WATER PROJECT FUNDING:

U.S. agency opposes Oxnard water project; Bureau prefers that feasibility study be done - Ventura County Star

 

FLOOD CONTROL ISSUES:

Editorial: Aggressive flood control; Yuba, state pursue Feather River 'setback levee' - Sacramento Bee

 

 

LAKE ISABELLA DAM:

If one of the dams collapsed: Maps plot wet, worst-case scenario

Bakersfield Californian – 4/8/08

By James Burger, staff writer

 

It’s a worst case scenario.

 

One of the two dams at Isabella Lake collapses while the lake behind the dam is full.

 

A wall of water roars down the Kern River Canyon.

 

Flood waters hit northeast Bakersfield within six hours, traveling fast enough and deep enough to knock people off their feet and float a car off its wheels.

 

It’s not the plot of a disaster movie. It could happen.

 

And the county wants you to be prepared.

 

“It’s vitally important that we get this information to the public,” said Kern County Fire Chief Dennis Thompson.

 

Thompson released final drafts of Isabella Lake flooding maps, developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to the Kern County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning and posted the maps on the county’s Web site at co.kern.ca.us/ess.

 

They paint a dramatic picture.

 

Within six hours, the Corps believes, water from Isabella Lake would be in central Bakersfield.

 

Within 10 hours, water would be 1-foot deep across most of Bakersfield — deep enough to float a car and prevent people from driving to safety.

 

At full flood, most of Bakersfield would be under 5 to 10 feet of water. The waters in downtown Bakersfield could be more than 20 feet deep.

 

Supervisor Ray Watson said that shocking information is critical for the public to understand.

 

“People need to know there would be serious danger for the metropolitan area,” he said.

 

Thompson said individuals — as well as businesses, government agencies and hospitals — need to make sure they know what could happen and have a plan for dealing with the flood.

 

A formal, county-crafted evacuation plan will now be developed based on the information in the Corps’ flood maps.

 

Officials with the Corps of Engineers feel certain that a dam collapse is extremely unlikely.

 

And in all likelihood, if a collapse does happen, the lake wouldn't be as full as the maps assume and the flooding wouldn't be as bad as the maps show.

 

“Out of the four unlikely scenarios that is the least likely,” said Ronn Rose of the Corps of Engineers.

 

Three other scenarios were studied by the Corps, but they aren’t being posted online by the county because county officials want the public to be ready for the worst.

 

“We wanted to avoid confusion,” Thompson said.

 

Rose said substantial new studies of the dam's stability, flooding in the Kern River canyon and other issues with the dam continue to be worked on.

 

The study of flooding in the canyon, Thompson said, will be especially critical because people in those communities will likely have little or no time to escape the flood.

 

“The people of Bakersfield do have the luxury of time,” he said.

 

Options for repairing the Isabella Lake dams, Rose said, will be ready for study the end of 2008.

 

“I used to live in Kern County. My nephew lives here. My mom and dad lived in the inundation zone until my dad passed away,” he said. “This is everything to us.” #

http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/410494.html

 

 

WATER PROJECT FUNDING:

U.S. agency opposes Oxnard water project; Bureau prefers that feasibility study be done

Ventura County Star – 4/9/08

By Michael Collins, staff writer

 

WASHINGTON — Oxnard's push to overhaul its water system is running into resistance from the Bush administration.

 

An official with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told a Senate panel Tuesday that the agency opposes the Oxnard project and eight other new water projects, most of which are in California and will require millions of dollars in federal funding.

 

The bureau believes "it is not prudent" to authorize additional projects because a large number already have been approved and are actively being pursued, said Kris Polly, the agency's deputy commissioner.

 

The bureau "prefers that feasibility studies be completed first to determine whether a particular project warrants federal construction authorization," Polly told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Water and Power.

 

Legislation authorizing the Oxnard project cleared the House last May and is awaiting action by the Senate subcommittee.

 

The bill doesn't provide any federal money for the project. But it does authorize the bureau to take part in the design and planning of the water system update — an important first step that must be approved before the city can request federal funding.

 

Ken Ortega, the city's public works director, noted the House overlooked the bureau's objections and approved the Oxnard project last year.

 

"As long as we have congressional delegates and senators that want to see these projects approved, it's just par for the course," Ortega said.

 

The city hopes to eventually receive nearly $14 million in federal funds for the project, which would provide additional water supplies to municipal and agricultural users throughout the county.

 

Besides federal money, the project will be financed with $25 million in bonds and various state grants.

 

The first phase of the project — expected to cost $55 million — includes a desalination plant that would provide additional water supplies for Oxnard and surrounding communities and a water recycling system that would treat domestic and industrial wastewater for agricultural use, such as irrigation.

 

The desalination plant is under construction and should be operational in August or September, Ortega said.

 

Construction of the water recycling facility should begin in 2009 or 2010.

 

If the federal legislation is approved, the city would have to go back to Congress later and ask for funding for the project, Ortega said. #

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/apr/09/us-agency-opposes-oxnard-water-project/

 

 

FLOOD CONTROL ISSUES:

Editorial: Aggressive flood control; Yuba, state pursue Feather River 'setback levee'

Sacramento Bee – 4/9/08

 

Along with New Orleans, Sacramento and a few other areas, Yuba County is one of the nation's most flood-threatened communities. Twice in the past quarter century, surging rivers have punched holes in Yuba's levees, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and killing three people.

 

To its credit, Yuba and the state are taking steps to avoid a repeat. Two weeks ago, the Yuba County Water Agency approved a $46 million loan that will help the county increase flood projection for areas flooded in 1986 and 1997 – including Arboga, Linda and Plumas Lake.

 

With this loan, help from other sources and $138 million in state bond money, the Three Rivers Flood Improvement Authority can seek final permits to armor 13 miles of levee along the Feather River, including six miles of "setback levee."

 

This $200 million project could be momentous. By moving the levee back from the existing channel, engineers plan to widen a major choke point in the river, reducing flood threats for both Yuba and Sutter counties. The setback levee will be built on a solid foundation, instead of one built on sand and mining debris. The environment will benefit, too – with 1,550 acres of restored river habitat.

 

Setback levees inevitably spark controversy. To widen the river, you must ask landowners (often farmers) to sell some acres. Through long negotiations, the Three Rivers authority is working through these challenges, as it did with a previous setback levee on the Bear River.

 

This success story has a caveat. It involves a Faustian bargain the county struck with builders several years ago.

 

Under this deal, the county allowed builders to finance part of the levee work by placing fees on new homes built in Plumas Lake. Yet when the housing market dried up, builders could no longer "front" those funds. That forced the county to scramble for money, securing a loan from the Yuba water agency.

 

The lesson from this deal? Don't hitch your flood control to a building boom. But work as fast as you can.

 

Yuba is doing the latter, which could be a lifesaver in the winters ahead. http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/847551.html

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