Dangerous Game of Dams

Rising in the Sierra Nevada west of Lake Tahoe, the American River is barely 100 miles long but is one of the nation’s most historic. John Marshall’s discovery in the south fork at Coloma in 1848 touched off the famed Gold Rush. Gold financed the building of Sacramento, at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers. Today, the American is one of the most popular rivers for white-water rafting in the United States. But during the first three days of January 1997, it was a roaring, angry thing that threatened to inundate the state Capitol, downtown and the homes of 400,000 Sacramento residents.

An incredible single storm dumped more than 30 inches of rain on the American’s watershed, filling Folsom Reservoir to the brim even though dam operators were dumping water downstream as fast as they could. The forecast called for another day of heavy rain, and potential disaster. But suddenly the storm veered away. Later, state water resources chief David N. Kennedy said, “We were very apprehensive about the Sacramento area for about eight hours.”

Apprehension about the area’s safety remains, but attempts to provide greater flood protection are bottled up in Congress at the behest of a single Northern California congressman. The longer the project is delayed, the greater the chance a flood could batter the city.

The construction of Folsom Dam just above Sacramento in the 1950s and levee work brought the city an estimated 125-year level of flood protection, above the accepted national standard of 100 years. But the level was revised to just 77 years following the rains of 1997.

After flooding in 1986, area officials urged construction of a flood-control dam on the American River near Auburn, 35 miles above Sacramento. But the Auburn Dam was soundly defeated in Congress, both in 1992 and 1996. Virtually everyone agrees Auburn Dam will never be revived, for reasons of cost, environmental protection and earthquake safety.

Now the region, with a few exceptions, has united behind the next best solution--to reconfigure Folsom Dam so that it can release more water more quickly and to raise and strengthen levees, at a cost of $465 million. With the backing of Reps. Robert T. Matsui and Vic Fazio, Sacramento area Democrats, the project would be authorized by the biennial omnibus flood control project bill. The measure passed the Senate but has come to a jarring halt in the House.

The reason is Rep. John Doolittle (R-Rocklin), chairman of the House water resources subcommittee and a confidant of Speaker Newt Gingrich. Doolittle remains devoted to a $1-billion Auburn Dam, which would be in his district. He fears that if $465 million is approved for Folsom, there never will be a chance to build Auburn. At his behest, Gingrich has kept the bill locked in committee, a rare move in the House that threatens to kill the bill for this year.

Gingrich should think of California’s capital under water. With that in mind, the speaker surely will abandon this dangerous gambit immediately.