This story from Saturday’s Bee makes the case for the balanced approach the previous post described, as “the [water control] system is running at capacity and needs a major upgrade.”
It should becoming clear that along with the strengthening of levees, raising of Folsom Dam, a major new dam on the American River, and the Peripheral Canal, are all needed at some point in our future to fully solve the long-standing water issues in our state.
Here is an excerpt
Anxious eyes on levees
Officials, residents brace for more flooding as crews shore up defenses.
By Matt Weiser and Todd Milbourn -- Bee Staff Writers Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, April 8, 2006
State officials said Friday they are extremely worried about levee failures on the San Joaquin River this weekend as more storms dump precipitation into already swollen flood channels and reservoirs.
Flood conditions are not expected to threaten Sacramento. But the San Joaquin Valley is deemed particularly vulnerable because it lies more directly in the path of storms forecast to arrive next week. San Joaquin Valley reservoirs and river channels are much smaller and already strained.
The state Department of Water Resources has moved a crew of about 120 people, including three California Conservation Corps teams, into the area to shore up weak levees in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
Levee failures in the area could flood hundreds of homes and thousands of acres of farmland.
"We are extremely worried there is a potential of levee failure, particularly in the San Joaquin River system," said Jay Punia, chief of flood operations for DWR. "If someone's living behind a levee, they should be extremely cautious."
The National Weather Service predicts that the San Joaquin River at Vernalis, south of Lathrop, will reach flood stage of 29 feet late Sunday as a new storm moves through the area this weekend.
The weather service predicts the river will exceed the "danger stage" of 29.5 feet on Monday.
"Chances are, we're going to break a levee before we reach those flows,' said Cindy Matthews, a weather service hydrologist in Sacramento. "We haven't seen levels like this since 1997, and these are significant levels on the lower San Joaquin River."
