Dam News:

Flooding worries rise as rain keeps falling

Downstream areas take precautions as a series of storms lines up.

By Mark Grossi / The Fresno Bee

(Updated Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 6:23 AM)

Several pregnant spring storms have given birth to a new concern during this wet season — is there a flood in our near future?

The National Weather Service was concerned about the possibility Monday night in central Fresno County, issuing a flood warning for areas downstream of Friant Dam. The Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the dam, said it expected flows from the dam to exceed 8,000 cubic feet — nearly 60,000 gallons — per second by 8 p.m.

The warning was expected to be in force through 2 a.m. today.

Since Sunday, dam tenders have poured enough water from Millerton Lake into the San Joaquin River to supply most of Clovis for an entire year. The water has refilled the dry parts of the river, which drains into the Pacific Ocean.

"The flow is being controlled," said Steve Chedester, executive director of the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, representing downstream farmers. "There's just nowhere to put it."

North of Fresno, the rain caused flooding in Atwater and Merced. Merced police reported nonstop flooding calls. Some residents reported water at their back doors. They were told to go to Fire Station Company 51 on 16th Street near G Street to get sandbags.

The problem was less severe around Fresno, although residents of Wildwood Mobile Home Park just north of Fresno on Highway 41 were closely watching rising waters.

At the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, General Manager Bob Van Wyk said area ponding basins are in good shape. Systemwide, he said, the district is ready to deal with as much as 2 1/2 inches of rain.

"We've been pumping all weekend ... to create as much capacity as we can," he said. "Because what's been happening this year is breaking a lot of records, we're treating this event as being different."

On Monday night, some residents of Friant, just below Millerton Lake, opted to leave their homes when told that flooding was possible if the volume of water released from the dam increased, the Fresno County Sheriff's Department said

And more rain is on the way. The storm is expected to clear out late today and Wednesday, but forecasts call for another front to move into the area Friday. Yet another storm is expected to follow Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

Water in Millerton Lake is about four feet from the top of the spillway at Friant Dam, which was expected to release 60,000 gallons per second Monday night into the San Joaquin River.

Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee

A flood warning for foothill areas will continue today, the weather service said. Though no major flooding was reported Monday, officials advised the public to be aware that streams might be running high.

The rainfall also caused a mudslide on the four-lane portion of Highway 168 on the way to Shaver Lake. One eastbound lane will stay closed until Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol said.

"The tropics are feeding warmer air into this storm," said meteorologist Gary Sanger of the National Weather Service in Hanford. "You're getting a lot of rainfall in the foothills."

The weather service said there is an 80% chance of rain today in Fresno and throughout Central California. The temperature is expected to reach the 60s in many San Joaquin Valley cities.

Rain fell sporadically from Sunday evening through Monday afternoon. By 11 p.m. Monday, the storm had dropped about 0.74 of an inch in Fresno.

Fresno's season total has reached 11.72 inches. Now in early April, the city has more rainfall than the 11.23 inches normally expected for an entire season, which runs from July 1 to June 30.

The snowpack in the southern Sierra has built up to 134% of average, while the figure in the northern Sierra has gone beyond 150% of average.

Water is being released from many major California reservoirs to make enough room for big snowmelt runoff later on. Lake Shasta, a massive reservoir in Northern California, is releasing enough water each day to supply 75% of Fresno for a year.

"It's amazing how fast the weather can turn around," said Tony Buelna, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation operations chief at Friant Dam.

The bureau had been releasing about 7,000 cubic feet of water per second from Friant Dam at Millerton Lake. Combined with Friant water releases from Sunday, the water would easily supply a city of almost 90,000 people for a year.

Water also is being released from Pine Flat Reservoir to the Kings River, according to Steve Haugen, water master for the Kings River Water Association. Some water will go through a slough to the San Joaquin, creating an uncommon link between the two large rivers.

Meteorologist Sanger said a series of storms stretches from the Sea of Japan to an area south of the Aleutian Islands. The storms are expected to continue spraying California like a fire hose.

"Some of our most severe weather has come in April," Sanger said. "On April 5, 1980, we documented the strongest tornado in the Valley since the 1950s. It doesn't look like we'll get tornadoes now, but funnel clouds are still possible."

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