Marin Lawmaker's Bill To Prevent Another Oroville Dam Crisis Moves Forward

MARIN COUNTY, CA -- Assembly Bill 884 by state Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-Marin County, passed the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee this week with unanimous support. The legislation ensures when reservoir emergencies occur, Californians living downstream can be confident emergency systems will work as planned.

In 2005, environmental groups warned the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and federal regulators that the emergency spillway was at risk for failure. Since that warning, inspectors performed an annual visual inspection, and consistently deemed the spillway "stable appearing." The Oroville Dam main spillway was probably damaged due to swift water flows under the concrete chute, which were cracked and of uneven thickness. Days later, heavy erosion caused the emergency spillway to fail and created a dangerous situation for residents downriver. The emergency spillway failed after just 12,600 cubic feet per second of water was discharged, less than 10 percent of the emergency spillway’s capacity. Despite the initial damage, DWR engineers were able to increase the discharge from the main spillway and a flood disaster was avoided. More than 200,000 Californians were evacuated during the emergency and repair costs are expected to reach over $200 million.

In January 2015, Levine, as chair of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, convened an oversight hearing entitled “California’s Flood Control Planning and Infrastructure.” The hearing focused on the implementation and funding of state, federal and local agencies that are responsible for ensuring Californians are protected from flooding. During the hearing, panelists detailed the need for funding of drought infrastructure, such as the maintenance of dams and levees, especially during times of extreme drought.

“Visual inspections are not good enough when the potential failure of a reservoir put people’s lives in danger and places California’s water supply at risk,” Levine said. “As California’s water infrastructure ages, the Department of Water Resources must take annual inspections of vital infrastructure seriously; the public deserves more than a visual inspection.”

The bill next moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

News release via Assemblyman Marc Levine's office

Photo by William Croyle, California Department of Water Resources via Wikimedia Commons