Facing the prospect of a new set of storms to batter California, Pine Flat Dam has temporarily reduced its outflow to protect against the flood potential of the Kings River.
The decision was made by the Kings River Water Association and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The big picture: The temporary reduction began Thursday at midnight and was scheduled to finish by Thursday night. However, the Army Corps of Engineers is anticipating future suspensions of nearly all releases as the storms progress.
By the numbers: Pine Flat Dam’s release on Wednesday was up at 5,190 cubic feet per second, which included a flood release of 3,000 cubic feet per second.
- The temporary reduction brought the flow level down to 1,100 cubic feet per second.
Driving the news: The Kings River Water Association said it is taking preemptive measures in response to a prediction that Mill Creek flows will reach levels of about 18,800 cubic square feet by Friday afternoon. Mill Creek flows over the first part of the week have been between 200-400 cubic feet per second.
What they’re saying: Kings River Watermaster expects local flooding along the Kings River to still occur even with the unusual temporary reduction in place and stressed the importance for anyone living along the river or any stream to be on high alert.
- “This cooperative action will temporarily reduce the amount of water passing through the Kings River channel in order to better accommodate very high unregulated storm runoff flows from Mill Creek and other smaller streams that discharge into the river below the dam,” Haugen said.
