California Drought

[95XL883]

As a kid it was common to see the Sierra mountain cabins with ladders to a higher floor... always thought it odd and my Grandfather said it often snows so much that a ladder is needed.

I vividly remember being snowed in back in 1969... the snow just kept a coming and we would wake up in the morning a a couple of feet were added overnight... a lot of roofs couldn't take it and driving was most difficult in that there was no where to get off the road...

For a little while my boy had a picture of the ladder in a snow shaft entrance. Pretty impressive. Oh, they not only have to keep the snow shaft entrance clear, the also have to keep the chimney cap clear as well. At least that one is easy to get to when all you can see is a little chimney pipe and no roof.

 

[95XL883]

Yep South Lake Tahoe... can't find the mail box when the snow is higher than the roof...

That sounds like an exaggeration but it is not. I wish my boy would have left the pics up but I'm guessing he was asked to take them down. Probably some government regulation or overbearing boss wouldn't be happy. Talk about being in it deep.

 

[California]

Meanwhile back at the ranch ... (discussion of the Oroville Dam Spillway Incident) ...

Aside from DWR's occasional Youtube updates I've only seen one Youtube commentator who seems interesting, intelligent, truthful.

Juan Browne is a long-haul airline pilot and posts nearly daily about what he has found about the spillway and cleanup.

Here's his Youtube channel.

blancolirio
- YouTube

Recently he reposted the DWR drone flyover video adding great interpretation.

More recently beginning March 9 in addition to daily reports of water levels, debris removed etc, he has begun posting highly technical reviews about the diversion tunnels under the dam. They were originally built to divert the river for construction of the dam, then in recent drought years used to release water to maintain flow in the river when the level was too low to go through the powerhouse.

These diversion tunnels would be very helpful to relieve load on the main spillway during this present crisis but they aren't presently in operable condition. His commentary seems to politely suggest that neglect that would be intolerable in the aircraft world has allowed these critical water control resources to become unavailable when they are most needed - even though flood control could affect far more people than aircraft maintenance neglect.

For anyone interested in digging into the nuts & bolts of the spillway issue, how problems evolved before the recent crisis and where this will lead for the future as well as seeing his list of source materials he relies on - I think Browne's discussions are essential to understand the issues. Highly recommended to the armchair engineers and techie nerds among us.

 

[California]

California's newest major reservoir: Underground in Antelope Valley, near the southern end of the State Water Project aqueduct and near Los Angeles.

Capacity is a half million acre-feet now with plans to double that.

CalPERS bets millions on underground water reservoir | The Sacramento Bee

 

[Egon]

They're saying the snowpack is the deepest recorded over the last century. So where's all that global warming? I'm sure some folks in the Northeast are looking for some of it about now.

BTW I hope they are equipped with a Spot GPS emergency beacon or something equivalent. At current prices, there really is no excuse for anyone being out there without one.

To get snow you need water vapour. To get water vapour you need heat!

 

[ForestGrump]

We have 3 storms heading our way next week. Hoping for a whole bunch of snow. Big Bear Lake is still down 12' even after our 110" of snow so far this winter. The storms we have received have not resulted in a lot of run off, to fill the lake, but instead have been adsorbed into the ground which is really good for the forests, springs and ground water replenishment. We have had 60 to 70 degree weather, 90 down the hill and the snow on the northern slopes is just starting to melt.

I need to put more hours on my Emax22. Our last big snow is around Mother's Day, heavy and wet.

 

[beowulf]

The storms we have received have not resulted in a lot of run off, to fill the lake, but instead have been adsorbed into the ground which is really good for the forests, springs and ground water replenishment.

Here in the central California foothills, we also have more rain coming next week. A lot of the earlier rains did run off and is still running off as water flows down the ravines but the ground was also soaked. The pond filled up a long time ago and continues to overflow as more water pours in constantly from the hills above even tho we have not had rain since February 21, and water is still coming out of the ground everywhere and we have "springs" all over the place. We have always had a few springs but never like this. All the rain that soaked into the ground from higher up the hills and mountains is finding its way to lower elevations and coming out. With the wet ground and recent temps in the 80s (tho cooler now) the grazing should be great - may need to get more cattle to keep the grass down. Rain year total for us is at 36 7/8 where last year I think we had about 12 inches.

 

[houstonscott]

Lake Tahoe expected to fill up with largest physical rise in recorded history - SFGate

 

[k0ua]

Do we all agree that the California drought is over?

 

[orezok]

^ For this year.

 

[turnkey4099]

^ For this year.

And maybe not even that long.

 

[dragoneggs]

Do we all agree that the California drought is over?

NorCal yes... not so sure about SoCal.

 

[MossRoad]

Do we all agree that the California drought is over?

Nope.

 

[cqaigy2]

Do we all agree that the California drought is over?

Aquifers recharged?

 

[MossRoad]

Aquifers recharged?

Nope.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

How's the Oroville lake doing these days?

 

[California]

They need flood-control space in the reservoir to absorb spring rain and snow runoff and protect everyone downstream. On Friday as the lake approached maximum normal level, some 40(?) ft down from absolute maximum, they shut down the debris removal work and re-opened that damaged spillway to hold the lake level where they want it.

I've been looking for news, haven't seen anything since Friday so it must be operating normally. Earlier in the week they had some 2/3 of the debris cleared from the channel but this new flow must be bringing down more junk.

 

[California]

For anyone interested in background detail: there is ongoing controversy between the locals who fear being flooded, and the water users far south who want the maximum water stored in the reservoir. The reservoir's own operating manual anticipated a buffer reservoir downstream that never got built so the locals want equivalent space left vacant in the reservoir to absorb extraordinary runoff.

February was the first time Oroville dam was overwhelmed by extraordinary inflow and the 'emergency spillway' started to fail immediately when it was used for the first time ever.

Climate change is expected to make these extraordinary inflow events more frequent but the operating parameters have never been revised, despite the concern of the locals.

Is there too much water behind Oroville Dam? Critics say Army Corps standards unsafe.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

For anyone interested in background detail: there is ongoing controversy between the locals who fear being flooded, and the water users far south who want the maximum water stored in the reservoir.

The sad part is, they are both right. The local's fears are well grounded, and the water needs down south are very real.

Overfilling a dam isn't the right answer to water needs, but trains to nowhere are more important than sound water management.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I'd say at this point, avoid potential epic disaster. Lower the water and fix the dam. Free kayak and canoe rentals to ride the rapids for taxpayers. Must show proof of income tax paid. BYOB.