Levees break, flooding farmland near Galt, trailer park in Merced

Two Central Valley levees broke today, flooding farmland west and north of Galt and a trailer park in Merced. Forecasters say that today's torrential rain will pummel Northern California on and off for two more weeks.

New Hope Road was closed today between Orr Road and the town of Thornton. A portion of the parking lot at the Cosumnes River Preserve was under water and farmland on both sides of Twin Cities Road looked like a large lake.

The levees gave out as record-breaking rains continued to pound Northern California, forcing some residents from homes near San Francisco because of the threat of landslides. Authorities were bracing for more rainfall into mid-April.

"The bad news is rain stays in the forecast basically until further notice," said Ryan Walbrun, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service's Monterey office. The weather service was holding regular conference calls with state disaster-management officials in preparation for possible additional evacuations.

A Cosumnes River levee west of Highway 99 gave way, swamping fields north and west of Galt, but posing no threat to homes, highways or railroad tracks. A levee in the same area broke in January during heavy storms.

With no end in sight for the rains, the levee breaks heightened anxieties here about this region's fragile levee system.

Flood-prone Thornton survived today's onslaught, but Aleck Dambacher, who sits on the area's reclamation board, said residents will have to remain vigilant as extra water released from Camanche Dam today flows down the Mokelumne River toward Thornton.

While Thornton didn't flood today, New Hope Road, east of town, was closed due to flooding that was an adventure for anyone driving a sedan to traverse.

Dambacher said New Hope Road — the main road connecting Thornton and Galt — occasionally floods when Dry Creek overflows its banks. Dry Creek is basically the boundary between San Joaquin and Sacramento counties.

The Mokelumne River is doing fine, but people with boats on the river should take precautions just in case the river gets higher later in the week, said Andy Christensen, manager of the Woodbridge Irrigation District.

At the Cosumnes River Preserve, employees were nowhere to be found, but some visitors hoping to see some birds and waterfowl were there.

Rain falls on Cosumnes River Preserve visitors Susanna Danner of Marina and Bill Leahy of Pacific Grove as they watch starlings on the boardwalk today. The parking lot and the wooden nature walkways at the preserve were partially covered with water from today's rain. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Susanna Danner and Billy Leahy, returning to their Monterey home from Sacramento, stopped at the preserve despite the stormy weather. They looked for critters through a pair of binoculars on a tripod.

"We were just looking at a green heron," said Danner, draped in a heavy jacket to protect her from the rain.

Not only was the parking lot partially covered with water, but so were the wooden nature walkways. Near the visitors center, a sign that read "river walk" and "wetland walk" proved to be quite literal today. If you followed the sign onto the walkway, you would be underwater from head to toe.

On Twin Cities Road about 2 miles west of Christensen Road, Peggy Johnson was concerned about her 40 calves, who could become ill in the cold and wet weather.

"It never floods our house," Johnson said. "I just worry about the babies."

The adult and baby cows were in a field separated by barbed-wire fence, but somehow a little calf got out toward the house.

"Shame on you, No. 52," Johnson said. "Go back to your mama."

Meanwhile, Johnson was calmly weathering the storm creating some stained-glass artwork and watching "Dr. Phil" on TV in her workshop next to her house.

"It's better than Jerry Springer," she said, explaining why she was watching Dr. Phil.

Cars pass slowly along Sargent Road in Galt today after rain flooded the road. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Elsewhere, San Joaquin River levees will be tested this week by heavy flows of water, the likes of which haven't been seen since 1997.

Rainfall in the mountains during the last three days and in the valley today is sending water down an already saturated river system, says Arthur Inojosa, a state hydrologist.

"It typically takes a few days before the water makes its way down the San Joaquin," he said. "We'll be watching the lower San Joaquin very carefully in the coming week."

Department of Water Resources flood management officials declared a flood alert Monday for the areas near and just south of Sacramento.

Inojosa said it looks like that water, once it gets into the San Joaquin River system, will get fast and high enough to hit the "monitor stage" — the point at which the levee is "really working and warrants monitoring."

Those flows are sure to test the levees along the San Joaquin River, he said, many of which were repaired after the June 2004 flooding that broke through at Jones Tract near Lathrop.

"Those repairs to the system haven't been tested by high waters," Inojosa said.

The water that's coming is comparable to the water that came in January 1997, Inojosa said, when more than 30 inches fell during a three-day storm. The deluge quickly overwhelmed reservoirs and levees along the San Joaquin River and caused widespread flooding. It was considered the largest flood in the 90-year record of Northern California floods.

About three inches of rain has fallen in the last few days in the mountains, and another inch is expected today, Inojosa said.

That, combined with a snow pack in the Sierra that's 50 percent greater than this time last year, has officials on alert.

"Our biggest concerns are intense hot weather or intense warm rain," Inojosa said.

Reservoirs along the San Joaquin River are at capacity, and there's enough snow in the Sierra to more than fill them again, he said.

"We've been releasing to control the six major reservoirs," Inojosa said. "But we're coming off a wet year in 2005, so we're a lot more saturated, so all the reservoirs are at their flood control parameters."

Farther south, floodwaters breached a 30-foot section of levee along a creek in Merced, sending up to 18 inches of water pouring through a mobile home park, said Michael Miller, a spokesman for the Department of Water Resources. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

About 200 people from three trailer parks were evacuated, said Elaine Post, spokeswoman for the Merced County Office of Emergency Services. About 25 families took refuge in the Red Cross shelter inside a high school cafeteria.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., a key Senate spending committee approved $22 million for high-priority levee repair projects on the California Delta. The amount is a tiny fraction of the $6 billion Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sought earlier this year.

"I think it just shows, again, how important it is for us to concentrate on repairing and fixing our levees," Schwarzenegger said today.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the money as part of an emergency spending bill for hurricane recovery and military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who sits on the committee.

The House version of the legislation does not include the levee money, so even if the full Senate passes the measure, the two houses would have to reach a compromise.

Sacramento had 5.29 inches of rain in March — 2.49 inches more than average, according to the National Weather Service. Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Rafael and Santa Rosa all broke rainy-day records last month.

Reservoir operators released water from a variety of dams in the valley, including Friant Dam outside Fresno, to make way for the rainwater.

"We don't have a concern with what the releases are right now," said Gary Barbini, chief hydrologist for flood operations. "It's cumulative and manageable."

In Broadmoor, south of San Francisco, a handful of residents left their homes after a voluntary evacuation order was issued when a hillside above their neighborhood threatened to give way.

And Highway 1 south of San Francisco was closed in three places, including at Devil's Slide, long prone to rockslides.

News-Sentinel staff writer Ross Farrow, and Associated Press writers Juliana Barbassa, Laura Kurtzman and Samantha Young in Sacramento, and Erica Werner in Washington contributed to this report.

First published: Tuesday, April 4, 2006

Reader Feedback

Thoughts to ponder wrote on Apr 5, 2006 8:33 AM:

" Very comprehensive report. "

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Jeff wrote on Apr 4, 2006 9:31 PM:

" Very informative and interesting article. Many areas were covered and I feel better informed on the flood situation. "

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