Folsom Dam releases water-- first time in FIVE years...

[ailsagirl]

as a precaution against FLOODING!! Not so long ago, Folsom Lake was virtually dry. Now... Wow!!


http://fox40.com/2016/03/08/five-gates-release-water-at-folsom-dam/

[The River]

1. I Drove By There

this morning. Couldn't believe my eyes.

[JohnnyLib2]

2. Wonderful!

[petronius]

3. That's good news! And Shasta is at 91% of the historical average, with

Oroville at 87% of average - we may get to take showers and wash our cars this summer, after all...

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/getResGraphsMain.action

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Lake-Shasta-fill-up-El-Nino-full-capacity-drought-6879810.php#photo-9580815

[ailsagirl]

4. Wonderful news all around!!

Thanks for the links!

I'm sitting here, listening to the soothing rhythm of the rain-- it's magical!

[ailsagirl]

6. I couldn't stand to look at footage of Folsom Lake and Shasta

during the past while-- before these storms came-- it was shocking to see how bad off they were

[Brother Buzz]

5. They first stared releasing water a few weeks ago during the last storm

This is a much larger release. Folsom's primary job from the get-go has been flood control and that doesn't work to well when the reservoir's full. Here's hopping they get to open the weir gates on the Sacramento river and flood the Yolo Bypass too; waterfowl love it.

[Brother Buzz]

9. Yolo Bypass to flood for 1st time since 2012 (radio reports it IS now flooding)

WOODLAND, Calif. (KCRA) —Sometime late Friday or early Saturday water will begin to spill over a concrete wall, known as the Fremont Weir, which lines part of the Sacramento River near Woodland.

From the weir, the water will flow into a wide tract of land between Sacramento and Davis called the Yolo Bypass.

Along with Folsom Dam and the levees that line the Sacramento and American rivers, the Yolo Bypass is a key part of the Sacramento region's flood protection system.

"The weirs are designed mechanisms in the flood control system for the Sacramento River," said Mitch Russo of the California Department of Water Resources. "They're designed to flow when the level of the Sacramento River gets to a certain elevation."

By detouring water around the population centers, the bypass helps to protect Sacramento and West Sacramento from flooding.

<more>

http://www.kcra.com/news/yolo-bypass-to-flood-for-1st-time-since-2012/38473056

[JayhawkSD]

7. Lake Hodges is a different story

It's still a tree farm, with the trees dying from lack of water. When you drive across the lake bed on I-15, the nearest water is several miles away.

San Diego had .6" of rain last weekend, less than that at the coast and a bit more in the mountains, for the first measureable rain in more than a month. We are forecast to get about .25" this weekend, and then we will be out of the storm track again for an extended period. We are at 83% of normal rainfall for year-to-date, and that normal includes four years of severe drought.

This so called El Nino is not impressing me.

[NBachers]

8. Folsom Lake has been looking tragic and sad. I am glad to see this.