Throw in the bucket
Four years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom touted dam repairs in his drought water strategy as a way to shore up water supplies. Two years later, in 2024, Newsom and lawmakers cut funding for a dam repair grant program.
Since then, a ballot proposal scheduled for 2024 has allocated $464 million to the program. A grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency also awarded California $629,198 in September, according to Jason Ince, a Department of Water Resources spokesman.
But the audit cites estimates that repairing the state’s unsatisfactory dams could cost about $28 billion, making funding a drop in the bucket.
The report urges state lawmakers to set deadlines and require dam owners whose dams are high or extremely high risk — that is, those that could kill people if they fail — to submit maintenance and repair plans to state agencies.
He also called on lawmakers to expand the enforcement authority of state water managers and for the agency to use the full force of its powers.
“To ensure that public safety is ensured before the condition of a dam results in an emergency,” the audit states, “the Legislature should amend state law to allow Water Resources to order the condemnation and decommissioning of a dam when Water Resources’ other means of enforcement fail.”
Laura Hollender, deputy director of flood management and safety at the Department of Water Resources, said the department has worked closely with the state auditor, but disagrees with some of the report’s findings and recommendations.
Still, she said in a statement, they are carefully reviewing the recommendations and preparing for whatever El Niño may bring. “Protecting public safety is DWR’s top priority, and we recognize the critical role dam safety and levee maintenance play in reducing flood risk for California communities.”
As the rainy season approaches, the auditor also pointed out that statewide dam safety planning is incomplete.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has yet to approve emergency plans for 245 dams outlining what their owners would do to protect people and property in the event of a dam failure. Officials told the auditor’s office that dam owners had failed to make required revisions and that state law did not require deadlines.
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This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with the Associated Press.
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