Category Archives: Boating

Boating, Fish, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

Assured Flows Keep American River Whitewater Rafting Afloat In Drought

Assured flows from upstream reservoirs are providing the promise of an active rafting season for American River whitewater outfitters – even in the face of a fourth year of drought.

Nate Rangel, owner of Coloma’s Adventure Connection and president of the California Outdoors rafting organization, said that while the north fork American River may have a shorter whitewater season because it doesn’t have water-storage reservoirs, prospects for a whitewater summer on the south and middle forks are expected to be good.

The state is in a fourth year of drought conditions and snowpack measurements in the Sierra showed levels far below normal on Tuesday and moving toward being the lowest on record in more than two decades.

“We may see a short season on the north fork because of lack of much snowpack,” Rangel said. “I’m hoping we’ll see a couple of weeks some time in April and May. It hasn’t been great the last couple of years.”

Rafting companies have gravitated to the higher flows on the middle and south forks. The middle fork American River flows are controlled by the Placer County Water Agency and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District controls flows from its upstream dam on the south fork American River.

Norm Schoenhoff, owner of Whitewater Excitement, said Wednesday his business is getting ready for the first trip of the season in mid-March.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>

Boating, Fish, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

Folsom Lake Levels Nearly Double What They Were In 2014

Folsom Lake has nearly double the water it had at the same time last year, and people are already out enjoying it. But things could quickly change. What could this mean for recreation on the lake this summer?

It’s a far cry from more than a year ago when people were walking on the lake’s floor. Today is a milestone of sorts as lake levels are actually right where they’re supposed to be.

“It’s beautiful to see water instead of dry rock and the Old Folsom town,” said lake visitor Cher Connor.

For Connor and her friend, it’s a far cry from the Folsom Lake they saw last time.

“When we were here about a year and a half ago, we walked all the way to the middle of the dam. It was so dry. So we came out today because we wanted to see what it looked like,” said Connor.

And it’s looking good. In fact, today Folsom lake hit a level it hasn’t in two years: The lake is at about 100 percent of normal, meaning the lake levels are where they should be, despite the ongoing drought.

“Inflows are up and storage is up as well. We’ve been up maybe about nine feet since the beginning of the rain event last week,” said Bureau of Reclamation spokesperson Doug Lessard.

Despite the rain last week, officials are not quite ready to change tactics by keeping as much water in the lake as possible – even with more snow melt on its way.

“We’re still in active management for conservation. I think we’re still well in a drought situation here for the Central Valley,” said Lessard.

More at CBSLocal.com >>>

Boating, Rafting, safety, Water

First Responders Practice Dangerous Water Rescues

Wind whipped up whitecaps on the already turbulent American River as a Sheriff’s helicopter moved in to position to save a man swept downstream. The name of the game: swift water rescue.

The victim in this scenario volunteered to brave the frigid waters as part of joint-agency training Thursday morning at the river’s confluence.

The water is cold, powerful and moving fast – it doesn’t leave any room for error – but Deputy Kristopher Ulshoffer waded midstream and let it carry him toward waiting rescuers.

His dry suit and life vest kept him relatively safe, but the river poses an unyielding threat all the same – not to mention the fact that risks increase even more when you add a helicopter to the mix.

Jim Mathias, battalion chief with Cal Fire, said exercises like this one are vital when it comes to multiple agencies combining their resources effectively during an emergency situation.

At the Auburn Airport there are three helicopters available to assist with rescue operations; two belonging to the California Highway Patrol and one belonging to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>

Boating, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Reservoir Levels Rising, But Not Fast Enough

Reservoir levels are rising in Northern California thanks to the recent rain, but much more is needed to make a dent in the state’s three-year drought.

The water levels at Folsom Lake, for example, have risen 7 feet in the past week to stand at 397 feet.

That’s a good start, but Folsom needs much more water before boaters can exceed the 5 mph speed limit.

The slow speeds make it smooth sailing for paddle boarders like Alex Minno, who noticed a big difference in scenery Sunday.

“This used to be all exposed right here,” said Minno, pointing to a water-covered area. “It used to go out like a peninsula and now it’s all covered.”

Fisherman Brian Wallace didn’t catch many bass Sunday at Folsom Lake, but he did notice a difference in water levels.

“The water has come up and covered some of the islands a little more in different places,” Wallace said.

Fisherman Steve Yee has noticed it, too.

“More water, less land,” Yee said.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Boating, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Reservoir Levels Rise After Pacific Storm

This week’s powerful Pacific storm delivered welcome rain to area reservoirs. According to Louis Moore with the Bureau of Reclamation, much of this rain goes directly into storage.

Folsom Lake is now at 34 percent capacity after seeing about a four foot rise with this storm. That equates to nearly 1.3 million gallons of added water. Shasta Lake, which is larger and feeds the entire state with water, rose nearly 12 feet and is now at 29 percent capacity.

Moore says reservoirs are still low and water conservation will need to continue. He says we hit near historic lows as recently as November due to the prolonged three year drought.

More at News10.net >>>

Boating, Fire, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Sacramento Rainfall Totals Rising With Good Drenching

The strongest storm of the season flooded Sacramento streets, sent drivers spinning out of control on area highways and dropped about an inch-and-a-half of rain in a 24-hour period.

“This is by far the most rain we have had this season,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Smith.

The steady drumbeat of rain through Wednesday morning was welcome to drought-stricken Northern California.
However, maneuvering a car on surface streets and highways was difficult and simply walking around sometimes meant hopping over rain-and-leaf choked gutters.

Sheets of water formed on roadways. Backed-up drains produced six-inch deep mini-ponds on highway onramps, despite the best efforts of Caltrans crews.

In a 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m. a total of 1.44 inches had fallen in Sacramento, 1.56 in Elk Grove, 1.34 in Orangevale, 1.02 at Folsom Lake, 1.10 in Roseville, 1.58 in Auburn and 1.51 in Walnut Grove. Between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. Wednesday an inch of rain fell in Sacramento.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Boating, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

A Surprise From Folsom Lake: Conservation Is Helping

Folsom Lake now has slightly more water than it did one year ago, despite the third year of drought conditions across Northern California.

The lake elevation was 390 feet on Thursday.

One year ago, it was 389 feet.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Folsom Dam, credits extensive regional water conservation for allowing lake levels to remain somewhat steady.

“You’re getting a greater decrease in use, so it’s really saving water on a personal level,” said Luis Moore, of the Bureau of Reclamation. “Through those conservation efforts, we’ve been able to stretch this water supply.”

Water agencies that draw from Folsom are taking less because residential and business demand has fallen.

It’s one of the few positive developments in an otherwise dismal state water picture.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Bike Trail, Boating, Fire, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Winter Rains Not Likely To Ease California Drought

Drought conditions will likely ease in much of the West this winter, but not in most of California, according to a new climate report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The report, released Thursday, indicates that conditions in the Pacific Ocean, which include a developing El Niño weather pattern, may prompt above-average rainfall for the southern third of California over the next three months.

The Bay Area, however, as well as most of the rest of the state, stands only a one-third chance of seeing above-average rain — and equal chances for below-average rain and a normal amount.

“There’s just not a strong enough climate signal to make a prediction,” said Mike Halpert, acting director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

The forecast bodes poorly for Northern California, where residents are hoping a wet winter erases some of the costs of the state’s driest three-year period on record, including tight drinking-water supplies, fallowed agricultural fields and damaging wildfires.

But even a wetter-than-average winter would provide only a modicum of drought relief.

“It will take significantly above-average precipitation to fill reservoirs and recharge groundwater,” Halpert said.

The only good news for California, according to federal climate experts, is that the stubborn ridge of high-pressure air that consistently formed off the coast in recent years, blocking storms from making shore, won’t be nearly as prevalent.

The probable El Niño, which forms when the jet stream reacts with warm ocean surface waters, will likely push enough moisture across the high sea to keep the ridge from settling in, Halpert said.

More at SFGate.com >>>

Boating, Fish, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Boat Dwellers Can Be A Problem On Our Rivers

There’s a guy the cops call Mr. Smith who lives on a boat tied to a log in the Sacramento River,just a short skip downriver from the Tower Bridge. He’s rarely seen, but he’s out there, hunkered down in a Bayliner named Takee One that’s barely afloat.

Traci Trapani and Jason Warren have been coming across people like this guy a lot. They’re officers with the Sacramento Police Department’s marine unit, and a big part of their daily routine is monitoring a subculture of boat people living on our rivers.

The cops have pulled about 10 wrecked boats out of the rivers this year alone, many of them from the American River over by Camp Pollock. In just over an hour on a sunny Thursday afternoon last week, Trapani and Warren came across four more old vessels moored in the Sacramento River, plus a makeshift raft of tied-together Styrofoam that someone is living on.

“Some of these boats are about to sink,” Trapani said, skippering a police boat past Old Sac.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Bike Trail, Boating, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Agency Seeks $9.7M From State To Improve Local Water Supplies

Hoping to reduce the Sacramento region’s dependence on Folsom Lake for water, local officials seek $9.7 million in state funds for 17 projects.

Officials with the Regional Water Authoritysaid the money, which could come by the end of October, would pay for groundwater-supply projects that would lessen the reliance on Folsom in dry years.

“Folsom is our biggest risk when it comes to water supply, because it serves statewide water supply and environmental needs in addition to our own,” John Woodling, the authority’s executive director, said in a news release.

The projects include upgrading or installing 13 wells, building four pump stations for lifting water to higher elevations and increasing access to water from the Sacramento and American rivers even when they’re running particularly low.

More at BizJournals.com >>>