Posted on 02/25/2020 5:30:49 PM PST by BenLurkin
Worried that an earthquake could collapse a big dam south of San Francisco, officials have ordered its reservoir to be completely drained by October to reduce the risk of floodwaters spilling into Silicon Valley.
The 240-foot (73-meter) high earthen Anderson Dam, built in 1950 between San Jose and the community of Morgan Hill, poses too great a risk of collapse and must be fully drained by Oct. 1, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates dams, the Mercury News reported.
Since 2009, the dam’s water level has been kept at a maximum of 74 percent of capacity because of an assessment that it could fail in a 7.2 quake. The reservoir is built along the Calaveras Fault. On Monday, amid the threat of another drought in California, Anderson Reservoir was just 29% full.
A seismic retrofit project has been underway because of its state classification in 2017 as being an “extremely high” downstream hazard.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District said in a statement Monday that officials agree with the commission’s assessment that the reservoir should be drained ahead of the retrofit project, which is “complicated and time consuming.”
More than 14,000 residents had to be evacuated in 2017 as water from swollen Coyote Creek, downstream of the Anderson Reservoir, flooded homes and temporarily shut down a portion of a freeway.
It came the same month as a spillway failed at the nation’s tallest dam, in Oroville in Northern California, leading officials to order the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people.
Stored water is an important part of the south San Francisco Bay Area’s supply — with enough water for the annual needs of at least 130,000 people as well as what the district considers an emergency supply
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
“Frankly, my dear...”
They’re missing a bet. San Francisco needs to be washed.
Yes, drought stricken Cali has water to burn. So to speak.
Right after Trump promised the farmers in the San Joaquin valley they would be getting water. Odd that.
Of course they wouldn’t have wanted to use any of the 22 billion in water bond issues to do any basic upgrades now would they?
Go with those guards.........
Good point.
During the fires...he was right on top of it....!!
Saw that earlier and was wondering if it wouldn’t be such a bath thing if it did burst and all that rot water did rush down and destroy a certain person’s property but, then I thought of all the other people that would be hurt in the process and gave prayers to God and hope for the best
Ummmm, my house is about three blocks from Coyote Creek. Am I that ‘certain person’?
The whole state is damned.
Nicely played
Precisely
And then fill up the space between them... and then dynamite the upper dam?
...sneaky!
A dam burst would be God’s way of flushing the Bay area toilet.
California raised the St. Francis dam and that worked out great!
Been talking about that for decades.
Hasn’t happened yet.
One of many things that should be done.
Hell, no.
That would MAKE SENSE.
How many projects have been approved? 8.
How many have been implemented?
ZERO.
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