And now flooding!

[Bethers]

SD is being slammed this spring. Now we're flooding and the flooding could continue until Friday a.m....
This is the bridge between our sites and the store.

Currently we need to walk (or drive) a longer route.

The next pic is the bridge behind the store. We've got our own waterfall!


Some roads are closed... Some washed out. Following is a picture of Old Hill City Road that was on the local news.

[JudyJB]

Can I assume that cuts down on store traffic?? How are your campsites?

[BirdbyBird]

Beth, How do you get back and forth to the store with the water so high. Is there an alternate path than the bridge?

[Bethers]

Judy, sales are way down so far this year. Today actually had more people than I expected, though. But we need some good weather. And our campsites are up a slight hill that has us very safe from the flooding. The cg down below, behind the store, is getting some water from the creek.

Tina, there's a road (more like an alley... gravel, single lane ) that I was standing on taking the pictures of the bridge between us and the store. We can walk it to the road then cross a bridge that shouldn't flood and turn back towards the store. That's how I got to and from work today.

Funny, I had two people this year ask if the creek ever runs dry. I've never seen it do so. This is the 2nd time I've seen it flood... But this time is worse than the previous.

[Cudedog]

And then there's Oroville dam, about 25 miles upriver from me.

The dam is 900' feet tall. Oroville is the tallest dam made out of piled-up-dirt and stuff (it's not a concrete dam, folks) in the United States. Current water level in the dam - 894.19 feet. And rising. . . (this data posted as of about 6:33 p.m. 05/28/19):

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryF?s=ORO

Let's see. I'm not a math whiz, but let's run some numbers here, just for fun: 900 minus 894.19 = 5.81 feet between the current water level and the top of the dam.

Current water releases (water being released from the lake): 6,902 cfs (cubic feet per second).
Current inflows (water coming in to the lake): 8,950 cfs (cubic feet per second)
Current amount of water in lake: 3,446,596 acre feet (yes, that's millions of acre-feet)
Maximum amount of water the lake can theoretically hold: 3,537,577 acre feet

The floodgates remain closed. Current (limited) water releases are via the electricity generating station at the dam - water comes through a really big pipe that comes through the bottom of the dam to turn the electrical turbines at the foot of the dam.

Is the dam safe with this much water in it? California Department of Water Resources assures everyone that, yes, it is absolutely, perfectly, 100% big-time safe.

Oh, yes. Almost forgot. It was the California Department of Water Resources that assured everyone that the emergency spillway was absolutely, perfectly, 100%, big-time safe. That is, until they gave 200,000 +/- people in the immediate area of the dam the message that the spillway could fail within the next hour, so "this is not a drill" get outta Dodge. Everyone - including me - grabbed their shorts and headed out the door.

Do I think I'm safe? Do I personally feel comfortable with the current messaging from DWR? Of course, absolutely, perfectly, 100%, big-time.

Which is exactly why I have a "get outta town" bag packed and ready, currently sitting at my front door. Also, my fingernails are getting kinda short. Maybe I should just quit chewing on them. . .

Anne

[JudyJB]

Beth, I hope the water goes down soon. Are you in any danger of getting stuck on the wrong side of the bridge? Like on the store side where you would not be able to get back to your campsite?? Glad you are up on a hill, at least.

And, Anne, I have been wondering about that stupid dam. Didn't someone tell them way back when that bigger is not necessarily better? Dumb, dumb, dumb to put such a big dam so close to where people live. And even if the people moved in after the dam was built, they never should have approved permits. And they should be releasing a lot more water from that dam with water level kept at least 50-100 feet below the dam.

Glad you have a bag packed, at least. I'd have three or four packed, and my trailer loaded, as well. Where is your trailer, by the way? Is that on high ground where you could go to it, assuming they evacuated you?

[BarbaraRose]

Beth, is that water from the snow melt or from additional rain too? I was gonna ask about the campsites where I was parked but sounds like those are starting to flood too. Glad you gals are up on higher ground! Hope it all starts receding soon and the weather starts to improve.

Anne, I don't blame you for packing up and being ready on a moments notice! Hope your camper is in a place where you can get it and stay in it if you can't go back home for awhile.

[Bethers]

Judy, I don't think we'll get stuck up here, but should that happen it would be pretty short term and we'd be safe as we won't flood here.

Barbie, the entire lower cg was closed but while the creek was pushing towards going over it's banks into a couple sites when I looked, none had really flooded. However if we get much more rain, that could change for some sites.

The snow melt has the ground at its saturation point. So the current rains just have no where to go... It's a matter of the ground being able to accept more.

[snowball]

wow that is scary... hopefully it will go down soon
Anne hopefully yours will lower as well
sheila

[Queen]

Holy cow, Beth!!

I visited our local state park yesterday (40 minutes away), the lake is almost over it’s banks, the river is super (it’s normally so low you have to drag a canoe over potions, and about 50% of the campsites are mud bogs.

[gypsyrose1126]

It has been a terrible spring for flooding and tornados all over. Hopefully, the weather will improve!

[avalen]

Wow, thats incredible, glad you have an alternate walk to and from work