House Panel Told of Perils Posed by El Nino

In the latest warnings about El Nino, members of Congress were confronted on Thursday with dire predictions of potentially heavy flooding and destructive landslides induced by the weather phenomenon in portions of Southern California.

A panel of scientists, meteorologists and emergency planning officials appeared before a House subcommittee hearing that focused largely on problems of water management and water conservation that could occur if El Nino produces its anticipated heavy rains.

Flooding associated with El Nino could seriously affect water quality because “increased loads of nutrients and toxic chemicals may be washed into rivers during flood conditions,” said Dr. Mark Schaefer, acting director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Schaefer also said that there was “a high landslide potential” caused by the threat of increased rainfall along the coast, and that the hazard could extend into next year.

Stephen K. Hall, executive director of the Assn. of California Water Agencies, testified that El Nino could “play havoc on a water system already stressed to the breaking point.”

Hall, whose nonprofit organization represents 440 public water agencies, said his members struggle in normal times to balance flood control and water supply needs. But El Nino threatens to put added tension on a system “built decades ago before modern construction techniques were available,” he said.

Hall explained that “water managers must keep enough reservoir storage space available to manage floods during heavy precipitation, while ensuring that adequate water is stored to meet water supply needs for cities and farms to protect against drought.”

Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Rocklin), chairman of the water and power subcommittee of the House Resources Committee, said federal officials must play a key role in coordinating efforts to prepare for El Nino’s, and to protect the quality and quantity of drinking water.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said last week that a vast swath of the Los Angeles Basin is at risk of being swamped unless the region’s flood control system is improved.