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8 CapitalPress.com October 27, 2017 California Subscribe to our weekly California email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Flood control plan calls for further drawdown By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press OROVILLE, Calif. — State water officials are stick- ing with their plan to lower Lake Oroville to below 700 feet in elevation this winter to accommodate reconstruction of the dam. A flood operations plan for the winter and spring calls for the lake to be drawn down to 700 feet by Nov. 1 and for re- leases to continue thereafter so that crews can complete an underground cut-off wall for the emergency spillway by January, officials said. The lake’s surface was at 701 feet on Oct. 18, compared to the average 780 feet ele- vation maintained in mid-au- tumn in previous years, ac- cording to the Department of Water Resources. Releases will continue “at a much slower rate,” said John Leahigh, the State Water Project’s chief of water opera- tions. But he said nature usu- ally takes over in determining Albert Madrid/CDWR via AP This Feb. 11, 2017, photo shows the main spillway, bottom, and an auxiliary spillway of the Oroville Dam. The spillways were damaged as managers released excess water from rainfall. lake levels. “If we continue to see dry conditions, we’ll see the lake be drafted down,” Leahigh told the Capital Press during a conference call with report- ers. “As soon as we get some significant rains, the first sev- eral inches of rain is absorbed into soil. But at a certain point when we get enough rain, we’ll start to see inflows.” The flood plan will al- low for inflows up to a cer- tain point, depending on the time of year, before the DWR boosts releases into the Feather River. For instance, if storms push the lake to 848.5 feet at any point during the winter, water will be released at the rate of up to 100,000 cubic feet per second to bring the surface down to 800 feet, according to the plan. The plan is consistent with one the agency publicized last summer to lower the lake level to as low as 640 feet by Dec. 31, raising the eyebrows of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Ca- lif., whose district includes the Oroville area. LaMalfa argued that drain- ing the lake that low would leave only 850,000 acre-feet in the lake with only about 100 days left in the winter to fill it. The spillway gates ar- en’t touched by water until it reaches 813 feet, which is 2.35 million acre-feet of wa- ter, he said. But the lower level will provide more than 2.2 million acre-feet of flood reserve storage to accommodate in- flows during the rainy sea- son and enable officials to keep lake levels well below 901 feet, the level that would require use of an emergency spillway that is still under construction, DWR spokes- woman Erin Mellon said. Lake Oroville is the main reservoir for the State Water Project, which irrigates more than 600,000 acres of Central Valley farmland and serves 20 million urban customers in the San Francisco Bay area and Southern California. Asked if it would be possi- ble for SWP contractors to re- ceive a 100 percent allocation next spring under the current plan, Leahigh said full de- liveries would be difficult to achieve in any event. “It’s too difficult to say at this time” what the allocation could be, he said. “It’s going to depend on what kind of snowpack we do see this win- ter.” He said the DWR’s No. 1 task will be to tailor its opera- tion to the restoration work on the spillway. Crews are on track to meet their self-imposed Nov. 1 deadline to finish the first phase of a $275.4 million ef- fort to repair and rebuild the nation’s tallest dam’s spill- ways, which were damaged in February. The project is expected to take two years to complete. The flood control plan comes as a survey of down- river residents by Assembly- man James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, found most are skeptical of state water regulators’ abil- ity to inspect and maintain the earthen dam. Most said they were more concerned about potential flaws in dam management than they were about the pros- pect of a terrorist strike on the dam, which the DWR has cited as a reason for withhold- ing some information about inspections. More than 85 percent of the 3,322 respondents said the DWR should not be issued a new 50-year Federal Energy Regulatory Commission li- cense to operate the dam until the cause of the spillway col- lapse has been identified and safety concerns and down- stream impacts are addressed, according to the survey. AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RECRUITS “REAL MEN” TO WEAR PINK AND FIGHT BACK AGAINST BREAST CANCER Real Men Wear Pink participant Danny Dwyer with a young friend Across the nation, and here in Oregon and SW Washington, we’ve recruited men to fight breast cancer through our Real Men Wear Pink campaign. These distinguished community leaders are determined to raise awareness and money to support the American Cancer Society’s mission and save more lives than ever before from breast cancer. The 13 prominent men have taken a stand against breast cancer by supporting the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Portland through participation in the campaign. Throughout the month of October, Real Men Wear Pink candidates have encouraged women in their lives and in the community to take action in the fight for a world without breast cancer. “In addition to wearing pink and raising awareness about breast cancer, these men are raising funds to help the American Cancer Society save more lives from breast cancer,” said Neah Jackson, Community Development Manager for the American Cancer Society. “Funds raised allow the Society to help save lives from breast cancer through early detection and prevention, innovative breast cancer research, and patient support.” Each Real Men Wear Pink candidate is competing to be the top fundraiser among the other candidates by the end of the year. “No one should have to face a breast cancer diagnosis alone,” said Danny Dwyer, Radio Host and Music Director for 98.7 The Bull. “That’s why I joined the American Cancer Society in support of their lifesaving work by becoming a candidate in the Real Men Wear Pink campaign. This is a cause I personally believe in, and I’m committed to Real Men Wear Pink participants Mitch Elliott & Connor Laubenstein with Corey Foley raising awareness and funds for the Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer efforts.” The 2017 Real Men Wear Pink Oregon/SW Washington candidates are: Connor Laubenstein, Veracity; Danny Dwyer, 98.7 The Bull; Dave Rogers, American Cancer Society; David Carroll, Willamette University; Keith Fuller, Fred Meyer Jewelers; Kelvin Woods, Kaiser Permanente; Kris Dozier, Kaiser Permanente; Mitch Elliott, KINK FM; Peter Engel, Fred Meyer Jewelers; Phil Taggart, Pacific Coast Medical Care; Ritchie Metzler, Urban Pacific Real Estate; Steve Dunn, KATU; Will Roth, SW Office Supply. According to the American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2017, an estimated 252,710 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and an estimated 40,610 will die from the disease this year. In Oregon, 3,450 women will be diagnosed this year and 520 will die from the disease. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, and it is the most common cancer diagnosed in women other than skin cancer. “Our community can make a huge impact in the fight against breast cancer,” said Jackson. “We are grateful to our Real Men Wear Pink candidates for lending their voices to our cause and fighting for everyone touched by breast cancer.” For more information about Real Men Wear Pink of Portland, visit MakingStridesWalk.org/RealMenPDX or call 503.795.3958. 43-1/HOU Throughout October, the American Cancer Society hosts Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks nationwide to raise awareness and funds to save lives from breast cancer. Each event brings people together to make a difference for everyone who has been touched by breast cancer, raising money to fund innovative research, provide free information and support, and to help people reduce their breast cancer risk or find it early when it’s most treatable. 43-1/HOU