Big water starting to happen on the American River confluence near Auburn as storm drenches area.
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Category Archives: safety
Sacramento Co. closes parks ahead of more wet weather
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.
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Folsom Lake rises 5 feet in 24 hours
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 >>>
Billions in flood-control work coming to region
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 >>>
Rangers cite half as many homeless people this year for American River Parkway camping
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 >>>
Closures and Detours UPDATE
UPDATE 12/19/16—Closures and Detours
The following American River Parkway closures will remain in place until further notice: Discovery Park, Watt and Howe access, the PCA Bridge (Lower Sunrise Area) and the American River Parkway multi-use trail from Mile 0-5.
The Gristmill boat launch is closed, although park access is open.
There is a detour in place at Mile 20 of the American River Parkway multi-use trail.
– Sacramento County Regional Parks
Water Releases Lowered Following Days of Dangerous American River Levels
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 >>>
Dozens Rescued From Homeless Encampment Along American River
The Sacramento Fire Department’s water rescue team responded Friday to help retrieve about 40 people at a homeless encampment on an island after they were stranded by rising water on the American River near Acoma Street, close to the Arden Gardens overpass.
No injuries were reported but paramedics are also on scene to evaluate people.
More at CapRadio.org >>>
Fishermen Get Trapped On Island Below Nimbus Dam After Gates Open
Four fishermen were stranded after the gates of Nimbus Dam opened and increased the water flow around the island they were on.
The incident happened late Tuesday morning just below the Nimbus Dam on the American River.
Sacramento Metro Fire says some fisherman were on an island just below the dam gates. The gates were getting ready to open and when they did, the water flow increased to the point that the fishermen couldn’t make it back across.
A crew was launched to rescue the fishermen and bring them back safely. No one was injured.
More at CBSLocal.com >>>
Folsom Lake water release going into rising American River
Water releases out of Folsom Lake were doubled Tuesday morning after weekend rains increased the inflows into the lake, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
The outflows via Folsom Dam were increased from 3,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 6,000 cfs, with the flows expected to sprawl downstream into the low-lying areas, as opposed to the American River rising, the bureau said. The initial plan was to increase the outflow by up to 8,000 cfs by Thursday, but it may increase to as high at 15,000 cfs.
More at KCRA.com >>>