Did Kern County have a hand in Oroville crisis?

Did Kern County have a hand in Oroville crisis?

For years environmental groups warned state and federal authorities that Oroville Dam’s emergency spillway was a potential hazard, and needed to be repaired immediately.

However, that plea was rejected, according a story in the San Jose Mercury News, because water agencies around the state, including the Kern County Water Agency, didn’t want to pay for the improvements. In 2005, the environmental groups filed a motion with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, that Oroville Dam’s spillway could become overwhelmed in a large rain event, forcing water over the earthen emergency spillway, which would be susceptible to erosion damage.

FERC rejected that request, however, after the state Department of Water Resources, and the water agencies that would likely have had to pay the bill for the upgrades, said they were unnecessary. Those agencies included the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to 19 million people in Los Angeles, San Diego and other areas, along with the State Water Contractors, an association of 27 agencies that buy water from the state of California through the State Water Project. The association includes the Metropolitan Water District, Kern County Water Agency, the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the Alameda County Water District.

 

Here are other links to the crisis:

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article132379669.html

Latest Blogs

Ralph & Ragone Discuss 81st Anniversary of D-Day

Ralph & Ragone Discuss 81st Anniversary of D-Day

The Ralph Bailey Show welcomes historian Nick Ragone to the broadcast as he & Ralph discuss one of America’s most historical moments, the storming of the beaches of Normandy, France in World War 2. KERN Radio · Ralph & Ragone Discuss 81st Anniversary of D-Day

Congressman Fong Talks Big Beautiful Bill & Ukraine

Congressman Fong Talks Big Beautiful Bill & Ukraine

The Ralph Bailey Show welcomes Congressman Vince Fong to the show as they discuss the Congress’s decision to vote in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill & the Congressman give his thoughts on Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine. KERN Radio · Congressman Fong Talks Big Beautiful Bill & Ukraine

Rick Bentley & Erik Nelson Talk ‘Officer David Nelson Memorial Scholarship’

Rick Bentley & Erik Nelson Talk ‘Officer David Nelson Memorial Scholarship’

The Ralph Bailey Show welcomes Entertainment Reporter for KGET 17 RIck Bentley & his special guest Erik Nelson from the Officer David Nelson Memorial Scholarship as they explain how the scholarship & the upcoming Luke Bryan concert became connected. KERN Radio · Rick Bentley & Erik Nelson Talk 'Officer David Nelson Memorial Scholarship'