California DWR Releases Delta Risk Assessment

Saturday, March 21, 2009

California DWR Releases Delta Risk Assessment

Phase 1 Report Examines Flood Potential

Phase 1 of the DRMS analysis concludes that under business as usual practices, the Delta Region as it exists today is unsustainable.
Seismic risk, high water conditions, sea level rise and land subsidence threaten levee integrity. A seismic event is the single greatest risk to levee integrity in the Delta
Region.
If a major earthquake occurs, levees would fail and as many as 20 islands could be flooded simultaneously. This would result in economic costs and impacts of $15 billion
or more. All economic costs and impacts presented in this summary are expressed in 2005 dollars.

SACRAMENTO – The risk of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta island flooding is likely to increase substantially over the next century according to a state report released today.

The Department of Water Resources’ Delta Risk Management Strategy (DRMS) Phase 1 report assesses major risks to Delta levees from floods, seepage, subsidence and earthquakes.

Delta levees protect important urban, environmental, agricultural and recreational resources as well as the Delta’s critical water supply function. The Delta provides water to as many as 25 million Californians and about 3 million acres of agricultural land.

DRMS Phase 1 report findings will be used to develop a set of strategies to manage levee failure risks in the Delta and to improve the management of state funding that supports levee maintenance and improvement. The full Phase 1 report is available at http://www.water.ca.gov/floodmgmt/dsmo/sab/drmsp/

The Delta is one of California’s most important, yet one of the state’s most vulnerable resources. Gov. Schwarzenegger continues to underscore the need to upgrade our water infrastructure by increasing water storage, improving conveyance, protecting the Delta’s ecosystem and promoting greater water conservation. His Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force and Delta Vision Committee developed recommendations for managing the Delta to fulfill co-equal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration.

Phase 2 of the DRMS project will evaluate long-term risk-reduction options for Delta and Suisun Marsh levees. Phase 2 will present a set of actions that can be taken to reduce the risks and consequences of levee failures and is expected to be available for public review in fall 2009.

The Delta is a source of drinking water for about two out of every three Californians...There are approximately 1,115 miles of levees protecting 700,000 acres of lowland in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In the Suisun Marsh, there are approximately 230 miles of levees protecting over 50,000 acres of marsh land.

Source info: http://www.water.ca.gov/floodmgmt/dsmo/sab/drmsp/docs/drms_execsum_ph1_final_low.pdf

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Saturday, March 21, 2009