Gov. is moving early to prepare California for a potentially historic winter by pre-positioning emergency supplies, inspecting flood infrastructure and expediting coastal protections, the governor’s office said.
The Department of Water Resources said it has stockpiled flood-fighting materials at 68 locations statewide, including 4.4 million sandbags, more than 52,000 feet of “Muscle Wall” portable flood barriers and 400,000 tons of rock for emergency levee repairs.
DWR said crews inspect all 1,600 miles of levees under the State Plan of Flood Control each fall and maintain weirs, bypasses and other flood-control structures across the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys; the agency is also notifying dam owners to prepare for heavy rain and its Division of Safety of Dams inspects all high- and extremely high-hazard dams annually.
The State Water Board said it has backed projects that capture stormwater; since 2019 the board has provided more than $329 million for projects that can capture more than 48,000 acre-feet a year. The release cites local examples including a 5,000-gallon rain tank in Twain Harte, a 320-acre greenbelt project near South Lake Tahoe, and an $8 million-supported Urban Orchard Project in South Gate.
The governor’s emergency proclamation issued on Sept. 21 is being used to speed coastal work, the release said; the Coastal Commission can act on qualifying emergency permit requests within 24 hours. California State Parks awarded a $2.125 million emergency contract to repair pilings at Malibu Pier, and the Coastal Conservancy is funding a $16.2 million phase to move infrastructure inland at Ventura’s Surfers Point.
The state is also investing in forecasting and response tools; DWR is using advanced forecasting with research partners at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Cal OES reopened a modernized State Operations Center in Mather, and the state has an agreement with satellite company ICEYE to get near-real-time disaster imagery. Governor Newsom announced new swiftwater rescue vehicles, boats and equipment for 13 local fire departments to deploy statewide.
El Niño raises the odds of stronger storms but does not guarantee a wet winter, the governor’s office said. Cal OES’s Ready California El Niño preparedness guide recommends signing up for local alerts, knowing flood risk and evacuation routes, keeping an emergency kit and never driving through floodwater.
State
Gavin Newsom
Governor · Democrat
Named 3 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
Sources & methodology
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