With water levels receding at Folsom Lake, old little snapshots of history are reappearing.
As documented by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office over the weekend, the orginal Salmon Falls Bridge has reappeared due to the low water levels.
The bridge is among the last remnants of the historic colony on Mormon Island. Back in Gold Rush times, the colony housed more than 2,500 residents. A devastating fire tore through the settlement in 1856 and it was never rebuilt.
More at CBSLocal.com >>>
Great American River Clean Up – Saturday, September 17th 2016 from 9am-12pm
Great American River Clean Up Sep 20, 2014 2015 RESULTS:
25 sites cleaned.
1,550 volunteers participated.
20,000 lbs. of trash removed.
Come join us for our annual Great American River Clean Up! Bring your coworkers, neighbors, friends and family. Help us reach our goal of 2,000 volunteers!
There are 20+ Clean Up locations spanning the Parkway.
Click here for a map of Clean Up locations.
Click here for driving directions.
Click HERE to Register!
For more information please do not hesitate to contact the ARPF office at (916) 486-2773, or send email to volunteer@arpf.org.
The final documents required for the project have been signed and the Army Corps will put the first section of levee repair out to bid this fall. The levees are part of a system that diverts watershed runoff into the American River.
John Hogue is the project manager for the corps. He says each of the nine repair projects is called a “reach” and includes construction of a cutoff wall to prevent seepage. He says each reach project will present its own set of obstacles.
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There’s plenty of summer left, but the season for boating at Folsom Lake is getting cut short because of low lake levels.
Starting Monday, the maximum speed limit for boaters and other watercraft will be reduced to 5 miles per hour [mph].
“It’s very early, and it’s sad,” boater Darrell Perry said. “It feels unfair because it’s our water here. We’re getting penalized for it.”
According to the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the speed limit is necessary because the low water level has brought rocks and debris in the lake closer to the surface, and boats are in danger of being scratched, or worse, in shallow areas.
Many experienced boaters aren’t happy about their season being cut short. Jeff Kirsten has been water skiing at Folsom Lake for 20 years. As a water skier, Kirsten said the best time for him to practice his sport is during the later month, but the reduced speed limit would keep him from doing so.
“Trying to ski, it gets very hard when you’re in the peak season and lots of boats are cutting up the water,” Kirsten explained. “I like September, even October. Much better opportunity to water ski and not just pull inner tubers around.”
He decided to write an email to the Department of Parks and Recreation questioning the need for the reduced speed limit. Kirsten believes boaters should boat at their own risk.
“If I hit something, that’s between me and the lake and my boat. I wouldn’t expect an agency to be responsible for it,” Kirsten said.
On Saturday, he was out at Folsom Lake to talk to other boaters and hear their thoughts.
Boaters who agreed with Kirsten said boats have depth finders that will tell you if the water is too shallow, and experienced boaters know to approach with caution.
Despite the reduced speed, some boaters are choosing to see the lake half full.
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A GoPro camera lost a month ago has been recovered from the receding waters of Folsom Lake and reunited with its Concord owner.
Jeff Dumm of Rocklin found the camera Saturday while on a morning hike with co-workers at Folsom Lake near Granite Bay. Once he got it home, he found out why it was at the shoreline mostly covered by sand.
Video on the camera shows two people on a jet ski beginning to tow a friend on a wakeboard, only the wakeboarder falls off. When the jet ski goes forward, the camera and cameraman go sailing into the water.
The video shows the waterproof GoPro Hero3 sinking with its lens facing down before hitting the bottom of the lake with a thud.
“It’s a really cool shot,” said Dumm.
Dumm posted some of the video on his Facebook page and social media took over from there. As of Monday, the video had 115,000 views and 600 shares.
Folsom Lake levels are dropping rapidly and within a month boats at Brown’s Ravine Marina must be pulled.
Shane Hunt, spokesperson for the Bureau of Reclamation, said based on current estimates and operations, July releases will remain around 5,000 cubic feet per second.
“July is the highest demand for the Central Valley Project,” he said. “The reservoir releases form Folsom and Shasta are expected to be their highest this month.”
The Central Valley Project is the largest water delivery system in the country. It was devised in 1933 to provide irrigation and municipal water to much of California’s Central Valley.
“We provide water to millions of acres of farmland and well over a million people,” Hunt said. “It’s a combined system of 20 dams and reservoirs that we operate to meet a multitude of demands.”
While farmers and folks and fish downstream may benefit, boaters aren’t happy about the shortened boating season on Folsom Lake.
The past several years boats were pulled in July, due to the drought.
Joe Phum, of Folsom, and his father Joseph Phum were out enjoying Folsom Lake on a recent afternoon. Phum was not pleased after learning that the lake level will be getting lower and lower in the next month, cutting the boating season short.
More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>
The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District announced today that aerial treatment for mosquitoes that carry the potentially fatal West Nile virus is scheduled for north of the American River (Arden-Arcade and Carmichael) on Wednesday, June 22, and Thursday, June 23, from approximately 8 pm to midnight. Vector Control reports the spraying is necessary to reduce the risk of human infection and protect public health.
Sacramento County is reporting an abnormally early and strong start to West Nile Virus cases, with numbers that are second highest in the state.
According to the California Department of Public Health West Nile Virus website, Sacramento County has 47 cases in which the virus was found in dead birds and 16 cases where it was found in mosquito samples.
In comparison, at this time last year, there was one case, total.
“We have one of the largest surveillance programs in the state, so obviously the more mosquitos you trap, the more that you collect, the more you test, and the more activity you are going to find,” said Luz Maria Robles, with Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control. “We have about 23 species of mosquitos within our two counties, and out of 23 only two are capable of transmitting West Nile Virus.”
Robles said the increased rain, combined with heat, is the perfect breeding ground for the virus-carrying mosquitos.
“Heat accelerates a mosquito’s life cycle so that means they more quickly go from an egg to an adult mosquito,” Robles said. “So this year it’s like we got a little bit of a head start, or we started the season off with a bang, because we did have rain followed by that warm weather.”
The hardest hit areas of West Nile Virus are north of the American River from Arden-Arcade through Carmichael. Robles credits residents as being an important tool by reporting dead birds.
More at KCRA.com >>>
Kathy Lynn, of El Dorado Hills, went kayaking for the first time and wasn’t sure of what she was about to experience.
“Kayaking was always something I wanted to do,” she said. “I live so close to the facility and I thought it would be relaxing and fun. The only thing I was concerned about was getting into the kayak without it tipping over.”
Lynn is excited to do it again because she had a very enjoyable experience, she said.
“It was very relaxing and there weren’t a lot of people out on the lake the day I went,” Lynn said. “I am so happy I finally had the chance to get out there and do it!”
If you are looking for a relaxing day on the lake, but don’t have a boat, kayaking might be perfect for you.
At the reasonable price of $11 for non-Sacramento State University students and $8 for students, smoothly paddling through the water is a perfect weekend activity.
First when arriving at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center, you check in at the front counter and rent the kayak, said Brian Dulgar, the director the facility. Next, you fit yourself with a properly sized life jacket. Sizes range from toddler all the way to XXL, he said. The, you grab a paddle, get in your kayak by the water and paddle away for as long as you want.
“Kayaking is for everyone,” Dulgar said. “I have two daughters and they grew up here. They were exposed to water starting at 18 months old. We encourage all ages to try it and have the ability to become comfortable around and in the water.”
A nice thing about kayaking is that on a day with a nice temperature it can be an escape from life and an relaxing experience, he said.
More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>
Summer is a fun season to hangout on the river with friends for a day of relaxation in the sun, but sometimes in fast moving waters, things can turn ugly fast.
“A call comes out, and we respond to Tiscornia Park with an elapse time of about 10 minutes, said Michael VanCamp, president of DART, the Drowning Accident Rescue Team. “We get on scene and our Swift Water Team enters the water and starts a hasty search in the area that bystanders said they ‘thought’ was the area.”
Concurrently, VanCamp finds the person that actually saw the missing person. This took him about two to three minutes to locate the witness. The elapsed time is now approximately 18-20 minutes, he said.
“I perform the ‘Show Me’ portion of the interview and learn the location that the Swift Water Team was searching was off by about 30 degrees, VanCamp said. “Once the Swift Water Team adjusts the search area, they found the man within moments. The team brought him up and to the shore. Once at the shore Fire/AMR took him. They started CPR and transported him to the hospital.”
This is just one example of many heroic efforts DART performs when they get a call about a possible drowning.
DART is a non-profit, all volunteer organization whose mission is to save lives and recover property from various lakes and waterways. They respond to all water related issues within Sacramento County as well as all areas touching Sacramento County.
“We’ve responded as north as Clear Lake and south down past Stockton,” VanCamp said. “During the summer season, we have a large amount of calls to Tiscornia Park, by Discovery Park, and up the American River.”
More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>