reservoir News

As Epic Snow Melts, a California Community Braces for Floods

Ron Caetano is packed and ready to go. His family photos and valuables are in the trailer and he’s put food in carry totes. He moved the rabbits and chickens and their automatic feeders to higher ground. He and his …

Ruling Exposes Gov’t to More than $1B in Damages Because of Harvey Flooding

A federal court last week found the US government liable for $455,000 in damages to six claimants whose homes were flooded by water backed up behind two dams near Houston during Hurricane Harvey — but that’s just for starters. Approximately …

Water Crisis ‘Couldn’t Be Worse’ on Oregon-California Border

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The water crisis along the California-Oregon border went from dire to catastrophic this week as federal regulators shut off irrigation water to farmers from a critical reservoir and said they would not send extra water to …

Earthquake Risk Prompts Order to Drain California Dam

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Worried that an earthquake could collapse a big dam south of San Francisco, officials have ordered its reservoir to be completely drained by October to reduce the risk of floodwaters spilling into Silicon Valley. The 240-foot …

How Draining the Reservoir Can Help Mitigate Flooding

Persistent rains have been pounding the Southeast, and a week ago, the Pearl River in Jackson, Mississippi, spilled over its banks, submerging a dozen city blocks in several feet of water. The river had crested at 36.7 feet—its third-highest level …

Judge: Army Corps Not Responsible for Harvey Flooding Damage

HOUSTON — A federal judge has ruled the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers isn’t liable to damage to thousands of Houston homes that were inundated by two federally owned reservoirs in the days following Hurricane Harvey because they would have …

Floods Put Mississippi Capital in ‘Precarious Situation’

JACKSON, Miss. — With the waters in the Pearl River continuing to rise in and around Mississippi’s capital city and more rain on the way this week, the governor warned residents that it would be days before flood waters start …

In Colorado, 24 High-Hazard Dams Are Seen as Problematic

Two dozen aging dams in Colorado were in unsatisfactory condition and are located in places where their failure would likely kill at least one person, according to an Associated Press investigation that found at least 1,688 such dams nationwide. The …

Hungary Sludge Flood Metals Company Fined $647M

Hungarian officials say the metals company whose broken reservoir flooded several towns with toxic red sludge in October, killing 10 people, has been fined 135.1 billion forints ((euro) 472 million, $647 million) for environmental damages. A 10-hectare (25-acre) reservoir at …