California water experts express flooding concerns
KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Recently released photos from NASA show the massive amount of water flow that's come into the Tulare Lake Basin within the last couple months. Experts are keeping an eye on the amount of water that is still expected to come into the area throughout the summer.
Officials with the Emergency Services Department feel confident with the steps they've taken to keep the community safe so far, but they also want residents to be ready just in case things don't go as planned.
The satellite images speak for themselves. The first image, taken on February 1, shows green and brown colors that represent vegetation and farmland. The second image, taken just two months later, shows the area covered with water and the rebirth of the historic Tulare Lake.
"My first reaction was 'It’s inevitable that the water has to go somewhere.' It was a few hundred square miles back when it was a real lake. I think it spans 30-40 square miles of farmland at least that have been flooded already is my understanding," said Roger Bales, Professor of Engineering at University of California Merced.
Bales said the Tulare Lake Basin is a closed basin. Although it’s designed to hold a lot of water, it’s not designed to hold the amount of water it’s received and the amount of water that might be on its way.
"The water infiltrates fairly slowly it will seep into the ground, but it will take quite a while. There are some other areas where it might infiltrate more quickly," Bales added.
Asking locals to be ready
With the amount of snow still set to melt, experts are asking locals to be ready.
"Anybody in Kings County, that lives near the Kings River, should potentially keep an eye out and should be aware for the situation," said Abraham Valencia, Emergency Services Manager for Kings County Emergency Services Department. "It created unprecedented flows in our water systems and led us to where we are at right now."
Valencia said they’ve been closely monitoring water levels in local levies, rivers and especially at the Tulare Lake Basin.
"Anybody that lives near a river, a stream, a creek...but they do need to be prepared because those waterways are stressed," Valencia added.
Valencia said that Stratford and Corcoran are protected by levies.
However, they are assessing the Corcoran levies and doing work on them daily to make sure there are no breaches when the rest of that snow melts and brings more water into the area.
