Officials monitor storm, lake conditions; some infrastructure repairs needed
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With winter storms filling streams and Clear Lake, local officials are closely monitoring conditions in case there is a likelihood of flooding.
This month’s storms rain and snowstorms have caused streams to run high, quickly raising the level of Clear Lake.
The National Weather Service’s observation station network reported the following 72-hour rainfall totals through 12 a.m. Saturday, in inches:
– Bartlett Springs: 5.60.
– Boggs Mountain: 8.97.
– Colusa/Lake County line: 4.98.
– Hidden Valley Lake: 7.48.
– Indian Valley Reservoir: 4.89.
– Kelseyville: 5.44.
– Lakeport: 4.41.
– Lower Lake: 6.15.
– Lyons Valley: 2.81.
– Soda Creek (near Lake Pillsbury): 5.61.
– Upper Lake: 4.55.
– Whispering Pines: 8.64.
The National Weather Service is forecasting rain through Sunday, a break with sunny skies until Tuesday. There is a forecast with a slight chance of rain and snow showers on Wednesday and Thursday before sunny skies return on Friday.
Clear Lake’s level reached the “full” mark – 7.56 feet Rumsey, the special measure used just for Clear Lake – Friday afternoon, according to the California Department of Water Resources’ Data Exchange Center.
The California Nevada River Forecast Center expects Clear Lake to reach the “monitor” stage of 8 feet Rumsey by Sunday afternoon.
Flood stage on the lake is 9 feet Rumsey, which it surpassed in early 2017.
David Cowan, Lake County’s Water Resources director, said there are so far no predictions when – or if – the lake will creep into flood stage.
In response to the high lake level and in anticipation of more inflows, Cowan said Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District was releasing water the Cache Creek Dam.
The dam was releasing 2,670 cubic feet of water per second late Friday night, according to the US Geological Survey stream gauge at the dam.
The cities of Clearlake and Lakeport are both keeping a close eye on the situation in order to respond should the lake move toward flooding.
“The lake is rising rapidly but Clearlake is in a bit of a better situation than Lakeport in that the lake has to get a bit higher here than in Lakeport before we have problems,” City Manager Greg Folsom told Lake County News.
“We have to hit at least 8 feet Rumsey before we begin to have issues. At that point we will detach the docks at Thompson Harbor (Redbud Park) if the lake level is rising to avoid damaging the docks. We also start to have flooding issues on Lower Lakeshore between 8.0 feet and 8.5 Rumsey.”
If the lake hit flood level, Folsom said the city would close Lower Lakeshore to traffic. Around 10 feet Rumsey is when it begins to impact Lakeshore Drive near the Sulphur fire burn area.
“After 10.5 feet Rumsey we could start to have some real problems, but let’s hope we don’t go there. We are in communication with Yolo about keeping the water flowing through the dam at a substantial level,” Folsom said.
Folsom said the city hasn’t had any significant problems with infrastructure due to the winter storms so far, other than a road washout on Boyles Avenue and a small mudslide on San Joaquin Avenue. He credited a lot of work over the summer and fall, cleaning out drains and culverts, with preventing more damage.
In Lakeport, city officials have been closely monitoring the lake level, according to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen. He said they’re ready to take protective measures if necessary.
He said they look at whether there could be damage to boat and launch facilities. As the lake gets higher, of particular concern are winds and wave action moving toward shore.
In the past, wave action has caused more damage to city and other property than the flooding itself, he said.
Heavy winds and the waves they created damaged the Library Park seawall to the extent that it now needs to be replaced, and also knocked over tables and benches, and damaged other park infrastructure, as Lake County News has reported.
The city has had some damage already because of the storms, Rasmussen said.
On Harley Street, south of the city limits, a drain infrastructure that goes under the road was damaged overnight Wednesday and into early Thursday, causing some undermining of the street base, he explained.
Rasmussen said Public Works crews were on the scene all day Thursday making emergency repairs, including placing a temporary liner for drainage to keep the water flowing and mitigate any further damage. “They’re going to have to go back later with a permanent fix.”
He said the storm action resulted in some damage to a dock from a sailboat that was tied up overlimit.
The city also had to close Martin Street twice since Monday due to flooding, and has also issued advisories due to standing water. “We don’t believe there’s any damage from that.”
As for reports of damage to private property, he said a sailboat that broke free of a mooring and slammed into the shoreline, and on Ninth Street on Wednesday a tree fell on a house on private property, causing significant damage. No one hurt, and while damaged the said the home wasn’t determined to be uninhabitable.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.