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Clark Bypass cropped
The Sutter Bypass looking north; photo by Andrea Clark

It feels like Monday morning’s installment should start with a rousing round of “rain, rain, go away, come again another day, Californians want to play!”  With even more storms set to hit Northern and Southern California, the rain totals continue to rise and Mother Nature once again shows her awesome power.  Today’s installment is focused on short summaries of events from around the state.

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Here’s a recap of the last couple of days in the flood protection world:

1. DWR further reduced outflow from the primary spillway at Oroville Dam from 70,000 cfs to 60,000 cfs to 55,00 cfs, before announcing on Sunday at 2:00 that the outflows would be increased to 60,000 cfs again.  DWR reported that the initial reductions in flow had allowed assessment teams to view debris buildup and dredge debris piles below the flood control spillway.  DWR further shared that despite current inclement weather, work was continuing on the area below the spillway, the monoliths, access roads, and various eroded areas created by emergency spillway runoff.  Also, rock, aggregate, and cement slurry continued to be placed into areas affected by erosion with work continuing 24 hours a day.  On Sunday, DWR reported that the increases in releases (from 55,000 cfs to 60,000 cfs) were typical of normal flood control operations and were in anticipation of forecasted weather conditions to balance water flow in and out of the reservoir.  Once again we present a helpful graphic from public.tableau.com which shows releases and inflow on the top half of the page and water elevation on the bottom (note that as promised, DWR has created 50 feet of new flood storage in the reservoir).

Tableau Oroville

 

2. As reported by the local and national media, the town of Maxwell in Colusa county flooded, with approximately one foot of water affecting the small community.  According to the 2010 census, Maxwell had 1,103 residents living in 365 homes.  A largely agricultural community, it was affected by rivers, creeks, and canals rising, as no levees protect the community.  Maxwell was recently identified as part of the State’s Central Valley Flood Protection Plan as a small community in need of flood protection, and it is on the list for a possible grant from DWR to explore that possibility.  The picture distributed by the National Weather Service was certainly worth more than 1,000 words.

National Weather Service Aerial Photograph of Maxwell
National Weather Service Aerial Photograph of Maxwell

3.  Meanwhile, this impressive water year continues in other parts of the state. On Friday the Los Angeles area was hit with a powerful storm, bringing two to five inches of rain – along with high winds – throughout Southern California. Flooding shut down parts of Interstate 5, the threat of mudflows led to an evacuation order in the city of Duarte for about 180 homes, and more than 100,000 people across Southern California lost power. See here for a summary of the storm’s impacts and associated clean-up efforts.  While not as impressive as precipitation totals in Northern California, Southern California’s precipitation totals are well above average, with downtown Los Angeles currently at 200% of average rainfall to date, and at 96% of total annual rainfall with much of the water year remaining (see here for current water year totals throughout the state).

4.  For a preview of the storms about to hit California, we recommend Accuweather or the National Weather Service, both of which have some very useful graphics.

 

For more detailed information about current storage, inflow, and outflow from Oroville Dam, we still recommend the California Data Exchange Center. Additional sources of information on this incident can be found on the DWR website and DWR has shared this phone number for public updates: 530-872-5951.

That’s it for today. Please check back as we continue to update you on how the system is doing.  And stay dry!

Photo of Andrea P. Clark Andrea P. Clark

Andrea Clark specializes in water rights and flood control, serving as general counsel to a variety of public agencies from local reclamation districts and water districts to regional joint powers authorities.

Public agencies in the water and flood control fields rely on Andrea…

Andrea Clark specializes in water rights and flood control, serving as general counsel to a variety of public agencies from local reclamation districts and water districts to regional joint powers authorities.

Public agencies in the water and flood control fields rely on Andrea for her ability to explain in understandable terms the wide range of issues impacting them, including basic transparency laws (Brown Act and Public Records Act), public bidding and contracting, bond financing, the unique nature of joint powers authorities, and elections. She also regularly counsels clients on water transfers, Proposition 218 compliance, the California Environmental Quality Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and financing strategies for major capital improvement projects.

With a special expertise in flood control and floodplain management, Andrea is regularly asked to speak on topics ranging from flood insurance to climate change and the future of flood control policy in California. Through her representation of clients in state flood policy and speaking engagements, she has forged strong relationships with key members of the flood control community in California.

Andrea also counsels private clients, including landowners and mutual water companies, on water supply matters, including proceedings before the State Water Resources Control Board, water rights determinations, and contractual disputes with Federal agencies.

Photo of Scott L. Shapiro Scott L. Shapiro

Scott Shapiro is known for his expertise in flood protection improvement projects throughout California’s Central Valley. He is helping clients with more than a billion dollars in projects in California’s Central Valley and issues involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the…

Scott Shapiro is known for his expertise in flood protection improvement projects throughout California’s Central Valley. He is helping clients with more than a billion dollars in projects in California’s Central Valley and issues involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) throughout the Western United States.

With a special focus on massive flood protection improvement projects, Scott advises clients through regulatory, contractual, financing, and legislative challenges. Acting as general or special counsel, he regularly interacts with senior management at USACE (Headquarters, South Pacific Division, and Sacramento District), the California Department of Water Resources, and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. He was named to the National Section 408 Task Force and has been invited to give testimony to the National Academies. Scott was instrumental in helping the first regional flood improvement agency that took a basin threatened by flood risk from less than 30-year level of protection to a level of protection approaching 200-year.

Having worked with FEMA on issues of floodplain mapping and levee accreditation for many years, Scott has developed collaborative environments in which he fosters win-win solutions for his clients. He is also currently serving as the lead counsel on a flood insurance rate map (FIRM) appeal and has drafted Federal legislation to modify the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) several times.

Scott is known throughout the region for his extensive litigation experience focusing on cases arising from levee failures. He has litigated levee failures resulting from underseepage, failed encroachments, and rodent burrows as well as briefing levee overtopping cases at the appellate level. Scott is one of the few attorneys with experience litigating flood cases on behalf of plaintiffs as well as defendant government entities.