Responding to the emergency situation in Oroville, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathyn Barger Monday said she wants crews to conduct thorough assessments of local dams and spillways to identify any potential problem areas.
Barger said she will introduce a motion at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting directing county agencies to identify any “potential threats to public safety” at county facilities.
“The Oroville situation reminds us of the need to proactively evaluate our county’s risk with regard to dams and other facilities which may be prone to failure from storms, earthquakes or other foreseeable events,” she said.
The motion will call for a review of dams, spillways and other water- collection or diversion facilities.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, accused Gov. Jerry Brown of “malfeasance” in connection with the dam, prompting a spokeswoman for the governor to criticize Allen for politicizing the emergency.
“The Oroville dam failure was entirely avoidable,” Allen said. “California passed a $7.5 billion water bond in 2014, but Jerry Brown didn’t spend $1 on new water storage or improvements to existing infrastructure like Oroville. Now trillions of gallons of water are being lost and people are evacuating their homes. What does it take for the California Democrats to actually fix anything?”
Allen said the governor “has been more interested in telling Californians how to kill their lawns and calling for `shower cops’ than actually addressing our insufficient water system.”
Nancy Vogel, a spokeswoman for the governor, pointed out that the bond voters approved dedicated $2.7 billion for investments in water storage. The California Water Commission was put in charge of appropriating the money for the projects.
“Now is not the time to politicize an emergency,” Vogel said. “Mr. Allen has his factors wrong. The process for completing water storage projects has been transparent, open to everyone who wants to get involved and proceeding under clear guidelines by the voters through Prop. 1.”
Earlier Monday, dozens of members of swiftwater rescue teams in Southern California started heading toward Oroville to help respond to the emergency involving its dam and spillway, but their trip was abruptly canceled.
The teams from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, Orange County Fire Authority and Long Beach Fire Department were all canceled while on the road to Oroville, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Dispatch Supervisor Ed Pickett, adding that the crisis in Oroville had eased a bit.
State officials said late Sunday that water stopped spilling over the emergency spillway as the lake level dropped and that the emergency spillway’s concrete lip was holding. About 188,000 people remained evacuated from the Oroville area due to concerns over damage to Oroville Dam spillways.
The local swiftwater rescue teams are all part of an Urban Search and Rescue task force that provides mutual aid when called upon.
—City News Service