State officials not expecting further flooding in Tulare Lake Basin
SACRAMENTO - State water officials said this week that they do not expect additional flooding in the Tulare Lake Basin in the coming days as temperatures increase and the state's snowpack continues to melt.
Continuous rainfall throughout the year's first three months and the subsequent melt of snow from the mountains above the basin have refilled the lake more than a century after it was drained to use the land for farming.
The basin sits south of the San Joaquin Valley and includes parts of Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties.
Brian Ferguson, spokesman for the Office of Emergency Services within Gov. Gavin Newsom's office, said Monday that the state intends to be proactive at preventing more snowpack runoff from submerging the basin even further.
"The idea is that we are making future decisions in a manner that prioritizes public safety and considers the regional aspect of all four counties," Ferguson said.
State Climatologist Michael Anderson noted that minimum temperatures in the Central Valley in the coming days are forecast to be about 10 degrees higher than average for late April.
However, he said that while there is an eventual risk that levees holding back some of the melting snowpack will be strained, additional flooding is not expected even with the higher temperatures.
"This week, we would not expect to see riverine flooding below the reservoirs," Anderson said.
Newsom visited the city of Corcoran on Tuesday, which dealt with flooded farmland during the 13 atmospheric rivers that hit the state earlier this year and is expected to face flood threats once again in the coming months.
Work began earlier this month to raise the Corcoran Levee by nearly 4 feet in an effort to prevent further flooding in the city. The levee spans some 14-1/2 miles around Tulare Lake, which is fed by four separate rivers.
Newsom said the state plans to assist local efforts to fortify cities like Corcoran to avoid even more farmland and small communities being washed away.
"We're here for the long haul, not just to address some of the situational concerns as it relates to this particular levee or that particular levee," Newsom said. "All of us are mindful of the impacts of neglect, all of us are mindful of the impacts of delay."
Newsom noted that Tulare Lake has flooded several times since it was drained.
"In 1950, we had similar flooding. In 1983, we had a version of this, took about two years for this leg to drain," Newsom said. "That's two years too long for the owner of this property, and that's why I say we're going to be here for the long haul."
