[env-trinity] American River flows will rise to 3, 000 cfs as Folsom Lake reaches 61% capacity (Reclamation just revised releases)

[Dan Bacher]

    http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/2/9/1482235/-American-River-flows-will-rise-to-3-500-cfs-as-Folsom-Lake-reaches-61-capacity




Winter steelhead like this one provide a unique urban fishery on  
Sacramento's American River. Photo by Dan Bacher.



American River flows will rise to 3,000 cfs as Folsom Lake reaches 61%  
capacity

by Dan Bacher

Sacramento – Anglers, rafters, kayakers and others who recreate on the  
Lower American River be advised — the Bureau of Reclamation will  
increase releases below Nimbus Dam into the lower American from 1,750  
cubic feet per second to 3,000 cfs for "storage management" in Folsom  
Reservoir beginning tonight.

“The increased releases are scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 9  
p.m. and will continue until further notice,” according to a news  
release from Shane Hunt of the Bureau of Reclamation. “Folsom  
Reservoir, located 26 miles northeast of Sacramento, provides water  
for people, fish and wildlife, hydropower, the environment and  
salinity control in the Bay-Delta.”

“The releases are necessary to maintain required space in Folsom  
Reservoir during the rain and snowmelt season. The current storage is  
more than 130 percent of the 15-year average for early February.  
Should inflows into the reservoir continue at current levels or  
increase, additional increases in releases may be required,” Hunt said.

“People recreating in or along the lower American River downstream of  
Folsom Dam to the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers can  
expect river levels to increase and should take appropriate safety  
precautions,” Hunt advised.

Midnight Reservoir Elevation and Flows for Folsom may be found at  
Reclamation’s Central Valley Operations Office website at  
www.usbr.gov/.... Current American River conditions may be found at  
the Department of Water Resources’ California Data Exchange Center  
website at cdec.water.ca.gov/.…

Folsom Lake declined to its lowest recorded water level, 14 percent of  
capacity, in late fall of 2015, due to the draining of the reservoir  
during the drought by the federal and state water agencies to provide  
water to corporate agribusiness interests on the west side of the San  
Joaquin Valley, Southern California water agencies, and oil companies  
conducting fracking and other extreme oil extraction methods in Kern  
County.

Due to recent snow and rain, Folsom Lake is now 61 percent of capacity  
and 116 percent of average. The water level has risen to 428.49 in  
elevation, 37.51 feet from maximum pool. 
  
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