Bay Area

Storms Bring Needed Increase to Depleted Reservoirs Across State

Michael Anderson, the state’s official climatologist, said river levels will continue to fluctuate after the series of storms passes, and flooding remains a risk in multiple areas, including five waterways that the water resources agency was focused on, including Bear Creek and the Pajaro, Salinas, Cosumnes, and Russian rivers.

Published

1 year ago

January 14, 2023

Oakland Post

"These storms are continuing across the state to help with our reservoir storage levels," said Molly White, a department operations manager.

By Thomas Hughes | Bay City News Foundation

The Sierra Nevada snowpack and California reservoirs received a huge boost from recent and ongoing storms, but not enough to end current drought conditions, officials with the state Department of Water Resources said during a briefing Wednesday.

“We’re working our way through a flood emergency but there will be underlying components of drought that will linger even when this is all done,” said Michael Anderson, the state’s official climatologist.

Anderson said the Sierra snowpack is at full seasonal levels expected by April 1 during an average year, but said it was hard to forecast how much that would fluctuate in the meantime, and excessive melting could pose further flood risks.

Two more storms are forecast to hit California in the next 10 days. Another 3 to 4 inches of rain is forecast for the Bay Area during those storms, and 2 to 3 inches on the Central Coast. Those will mark the final of a series of nine storms that hit the state starting Dec. 30.

Anderson said river levels will continue to fluctuate after the series of storms passes, and flooding remains a risk in multiple areas, including five waterways that the water resources agency was focused on, including Bear Creek and the Pajaro, Salinas, Cosumnes, and Russian rivers.

Anderson said landslides were a significant concern given the volume of rain hitting steep terrain, some of which has been burned by recent wildfires.

Water levels peaked at the Pajaro River on Tuesday morning and are now receding, according to Jeremy Arrich, manager of the department’s division of flood management. Flooding near the river forced evacuations this week.

Arrich said water levels at the Salinas River are forecast to peak sometime Friday evening and remain at peak levels through the weekend. A team of specialists was at the river to address multiple boils, which are areas near a levee that burst on the dry side and leak water.

Record flood levels were reached at Bear Creek in Merced County, Arrich said. The department has deployed 576 linear feet of muscle wall, which is a portable barrier, along with 100,000 sandbags and plastic sheeting to help combat the flooding in the area.

The Russian River is near flood stage and is expected to remain at that level for several days.

“It’s a pretty dynamic situation out there, things are changing rapidly and the flood operations center and our teams on the ground remain ready to help as needed out there and see if any other assistance is requested,” said Arrich.

Molly White, a department operations manager, said reservoirs statewide are at 84 percent of historical average, up from 81 percent on Tuesday.

“These storms are continuing across the state to help with our reservoir storage levels,” White said.

White said the Shasta and Oroville reservoirs both saw steep climbs of water levels, but are still lower than others given their historic lows prior to the storms. Shasta is at 1.9 million acre-feet and Oroville is at about 1.7 million acre-feet of water, which is 70 percent and 88 percent of their historical averages, respectively.

“Each day we are creeping closer to average conditions,” White said.

She said that’s about 2-million-acre feet at both major reservoirs at this time of year.

At other California reservoirs, Lake Sonoma is at 83 percent of its historical average levels, San Luis Reservoir is at 60 percent of its historical average, Camanche Reservoir is at 123 percent, and New Melones Lake is at 56 percent of historical levels.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”