For the first time since 2006, California is opening a flood relief valve on the Kern River to ease pressure from the heavy Sierra snowmelt. The valve will divert floodwaters into the California Aqueduct for use in Southern California.
The Kern River is swollen with so much runoff from the epic Sierra Nevada snowpack that state water officials have decided to open a rarely used relief valve, diverting floodwaters into the California Aqueduct to be used as drinking water in Southern California.
Now, the phantom lake’s reappearance has swallowed thousands of acres of farmland and is encroaching on low-lying towns such as Corcoran.It marks the first time since 2006 that the intertie, which connects the Kern to the aqueduct west of Bakersfield, has been activated. The gates of the 320-foot-long channel were to be opened Saturday to begin taking in floodwater.
To open the connection, operators lower the aqueduct’s water level below the level of the intertie basin. When the gates separating the two are opened, gravity conducts the Kern River water into the aqueduct. The flow is expected to start at a rate of 500 cubic feet per second and will increase to 1,000 cubic feet per second later this month.
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