Even as California’s government spends record levels each year, it does a terrible job maintaining and improving its basic infrastructure. The latest evidence is chilling. A report by the State Auditor finds “there are now 57 dams in poor or unsatisfactory condition, including 40 that have hazard classifications of high or extremely high.” It’s a big problem as we face an El Niño winter.
We needn’t go far back into the past to understand what this could mean for California residents. In 2017, the Feather River Basin in northern California received an entire year’s worth of rain in January and February, thus overwhelming the Oroville Dam’s main spillway. After concerns about the integrity of the emergency spillway, local officials evacuated 188,000 people.
The state’s system of dams is crucial not only in providing water to the state’s residents, but is crucial in protecting against massive floods. It’s imperative that this infrastructure be maintained, yet lawmakers rarely think about this crucial system until there’s a catastrophe.
Per the audit, “If the deficiencies of these riskiest dams cause them to fail, they could collectively endanger as many as 1.5 million people and cause more than $265 billion in economic damage.” That should be motivating enough.
As an Associated Press report explains, the state expanded the agency’s ability to inspect dams and fine owners after the Oroville crisis but it hasn’t used that power. That, too, echoes the reactive and ineffective nature of California’s oversight measures.
One dam studied by the state auditor had numerous deficiencies for at least nine years, including those leaving the possibility that “the reservoir level would rise until it overtops the crest of the dam, which would cause flooding and could erode the dam until it fails.” Yet another dam for at least 23 years has been known to be “seismically unstable and could collapse during a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.”
At least in that latter case the dam owner was set to finalize a plan last month and have the construction completed in 2029.
State officials often point to the aging nature of dams, which were built to different standards, and a lack of resources. Those are all legitimate concerns to have about dams, but also all the more reason to take proactive measures to make sure they’re not a hazard.
Dam owners (mostly public agencies), the auditor notes, haven’t secured sufficient funding to pay for repairs. The Associated Press notes that two years ago the governor and Legislature “slashed funding for a dam repair grant program.” Repair needs are $28 billion over five years, according to the state auditor, which seems like something a responsible government would prioritize.
If we consider the $44 billion in state-bond proposals on the November ballot for new and unnecessary programs, it’s easy to conclude California has the wrong priorities. Lawmakers should pay heed to the audit and adjust those priorities — before we face another disaster.