PROJECT ALERT NOTICE (CA) Flooding continues for California

Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2017 22:21:01 EST

Summary: Flooding continues in California as storms move out of the region.

The last of the recent storm system brought rain and snow to California today but will move out of the region tomorrow. Lingering showers will continue over the next few days across parts of northern California. Another storm system is predicted to bring 1-3 inches of rain to the region on Sunday.

Today, many counties in northern California remain under flood warning. Currently, 64 percent of USGS streamgages in CA are reporting streamflows more than 90 percent above normal flow for this time of year. The NOAA/NWS California Nevada River Forecast Center reports many California rivers remain above flood or monitor stage today, including 13 gage locations along the Sacramento River, and 4 gages on the San Joaquin River. The San Joaquin River near Vernalis (11303500) exceeded danger stage today and is predicted to remain above this stage for several days. River stage levels on the San Joaquin River are of particular concern because of increased inflows from Don Pedro Dam and Reservoir, which exceeded capacity on Monday and spilled for the first time in 20 years. Several other reservoirs across the State are at or nearing capacity, including Anderson Reservoir in the Bay area, which spilled on Saturday for the first time in 11 years.

The California Water Science Center (CAWSC) has 13 crews responding to this event today from the following service areas: Redding, CA (2); Ukiah, CA (4); Sacramento, CA (3); and Santa Cruz, CA (4). These crews are conducting high-water and recessional measurements. Related to this, staff from Redlands, CA and Poway, CA are performing repairs, flagging high-water marks, and conducting indirect measurement surveys.


Managers from the CAWSC remain in contact with water resource managers from the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the California Department of Water Resources to coordinate USGS sampling or high-water measurements.

No safety issues have occurred during this series of storms and all staff have followed USGS field reporting and safety protocols. Updates will continue to be provided during the course of this event.