Category Archives: Water

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

Folsom Lake is filling fast so flows on swollen American River have been ratcheted up

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With heavy rain forecast for Thursday, room is being made in Folsom Lake by increasing flows into the American River.

In about two days, the lake level has climbed 230,000 acre feet. Folsom Lake, with a capacity of 977,000 acre feet, is around 696,000 acre feet Thursday morning.

A strong storm on Thursday is expected to drop an inch or two of rain in Sacramento and perhaps four inches in the foothills. That has prompted Folsom Dam operators to increase flows.

About 40,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) was being released about 7 p.m. Wednesday. As of 4 a.m. Thursday the amount of water from Folsom Dam had been increased to 58,000 cfs.

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

Heavy snowpack looks good for Folsom Lake

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A whopping Sierra snowpack now could mean great boating and water skiing on Folsom Lake this summer.

The state’s official snow survey last week showed the Sierra snowpack is at 173 percent of its early February average.

That means, come summer, steady snowmelt should keep Folsom at relatively high levels.

So tune up the outboard motor and break out the water skis: It’s likely to be a very watery summer.

“We should see strong runoff into Folsom through the summer months,” said Louis Moore, deputy public information officer for the Bureau of Reclamation in Sacramento. “Typically, August is the month with the highest levels at Folsom.”

Recently, the lake held 407,000 acre feet; the maximum capacity is 977,000 acre feet. Dam operators are making sure there is plenty of space for incoming rain and snow runoff from the current storm systems.

More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>

Boating, Fish, Water, Wildlife

Folsom Lake less than half full after recent rains. Residents ask, why so dry?

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Northern California is on track to break rainfall records. Water has gushed through weirs into the Yolo Bypass flood plain at levels not seen in more than a decade. The Sierra Nevada snow pack is nearly double historical averages.

But you wouldn’t know the region has experienced an exceptionally wet winter looking at the steep, dry shores ringing the Sacramento region’s largest reservoir, Folsom Lake. On Wednesday, the lake was filled to just 41 percent capacity – 80 percent of its historical average.

Folsom Dam operators say the low levels are necessary to protect Sacramento from flooding. With runoff from recent storms subsiding and forecasts of sunny skies through early next week, dam operators are gradually dialing back releases into the lower American River below Folsom Dam. That should allow the lake to rise again.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Bike Trail, Fish, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Sacramento Co. closes parks ahead of more wet weather

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More water is set to be released from Nimbus Dam Thursday, and water flows will increase from 3,500 cubic feet per second to 15,000.

Farther downstream, park rangers are warning people to move to higher ground, ahead of the release and the next storm. They also closed access to several parks that are prone to flooding:

  • American River Parkway Trail, between mile 0.5 and mile 2.5, then at mile 20.5
  • All islands on the American River, between Hazel Avenue and Discovery Park
  • North of Discovery Park, between the boat launch and Garden Highway
  • Howe and Watt avenues access points

Vehicles and pedestrians are not allowed into parks when they are closed. Violators could be arrested, Sacramento County Chief Park Ranger Michael Doane said.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Boating, Fish, safety, Water, Wildlife

Folsom Lake rises 5 feet in 24 hours

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The American River water level will continue to rise Thursday as operators have begun increasing water releases through Nimbus Dam.

The first gate at the dam opened at 7:30 a.m., releasing 5,000 cubic feet per second of water downstream.

“Been such a long time since the drought started. It’s a treat to see,” said Glen Lutz who came to watch the gates open.

Throughout the day, the water releases were scheduled to increase steadily.

At 2 p.m., the flow was set to increase to 10,000 c.f.s. according to the California Date Exchange Center.

The releases come as Folsom Lake continues to rise following the recent rain and snow.

Between Wednesday morning and Thursday morning, the lake rose roughly five feet.

More at SFGate.com >>>

Bike Trail, Fish, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Billions in flood-control work coming to region

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More than $1 billion in flood control improvements will come to the Sacramento region in upcoming years, reducing chances for any area to be remapped into a flood-prone status.

The $1.6 billion in federal funds approved earlier this month will also reduce the chances of a building moratorium being instituted for a low-lying area. A moratorium from late 2008 to mid-2015 brought construction to a halt for the Natomas basin area of Sacramento.

Rick Johnson, executive director of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, said the new funding is on top of $1.1 billion in federal money authorized for similar purposes about two years ago.

“Basically, what this does is finish the rest of the levee system that wasn’t covered then,” he said.

In the new round of funding, the Sacramento River in Sacramento and West Sacramento south of where it meets the American River would see levee improvements. So would Arcade Creek and the Natomas East Main Drainage Canal, while other work would focus on erosion control. The Sacramento Bypass and Weir would also be expanded, Johnson said.

More at BizJournals.com >>>

Bike Trail, safety, Water

Rangers cite half as many homeless people this year for American River Parkway camping

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That people camp on the American River Parkway in violation of county law is well established. What might come as a surprise is just how settled some of them are.

On a December weekday before the last storm, a metal door attached to two trees blocked access to a campsite otherwise surrounded by thick brush. Another site under the 12th Street bridge had a television powered by a generator. Upriver, Fred Gurr had a large cooler, an office chair and other items clustered around his site, which he shares with his black cat, Bug Out.

“I’ve lived here for four years,” said Gurr, a veteran who said he became homeless after losing a job. “I’ve been at the same location the whole time.”

Just last year, county supervisors approved funding to hire more rangers to enforce an illegal camping ban, clean up the parkway and connect homeless people with services. Now, county rangers are ticketing far fewer people for illegal camping, with 602 citations through the end of November, roughly half the pace of the 1,278 issued last year.

More at SacBee.com >>>

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

Water Releases Lowered Following Days of Dangerous American River Levels

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The Bureau of Reclamation lowered water releases from Folsom reservoir after several days of high-water flows that resulted in several river rescues along the lower American River.

“As of noon we’ve lowered releases from 36,000 to 30,000 cubic feet per second,” said Louis Moore, spokesperson for the federal agency.

Less than a week ago flows were at just 1,200 cubic feet per second. Large inflows from Folsom’s 1,800 square mile watershed forced the releases by federal water regulators who have to reserve 40 percent of the space reservoir to protect against sudden surges of water from large storms.

More at Fox40.com >>>