California’s Lake Tulea community less likely to flood this year

California officials said Monday that areas near Lake Tulea may not experience major flooding this year as weather conditions improve after a series of powerful atmospheric river storms flooded the basin. said to be high.

Scientists and officials warned weeks ago that flooding would get worse in the Central Valley as a ton of snow melts from the Sierra Nevada mountains, pushing more water into the basin. The forecast raised concerns about possible levee breaches and the evacuation of residents in areas such as Corcoran and Stratford.

But officials said flooding was no longer expected in these areas due to efforts by the state to raise levees and efforts by farmers to divert more water for irrigation. Stated. Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state would spend $17 million to strengthen the levees that protect Corcoran from flooding.

Brian Ferguson, deputy director of emergency communications for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said at a news conference Monday that officials no longer expect the damage to be as severe as it was a few weeks ago.

Predictive models currently suggest that Lake Tulea won’t rise above about 184 feet above sea level, but officials warn that incoming storms could accelerate the melting of snowpacks and cause more flooding. are doing.

“We are in much better shape than we were a few weeks ago,” said Ferguson. “However, I would like to emphasize strongly that we are far from out of the woods by any means.”

Tule Lake was the largest freshwater body west of the Mississippi until the late 1800s, when its tributaries were diverted for agricultural and municipal water use.

revived lake Today the distance from bank to bank is about 16 miles Agricultural land used to grow almonds, cotton, tomatoes, and other crops.

The California Department of Water Resources is working to divert additional water before it reaches the bottom of the lake. Current floods could last up to two years.