Drop in the bucket

Gov. Gavin Newsom touted dam repairs in his drought-era water supply strategy four years ago, as a way to shore up water supplies. Two years later, in 2024, Newsom and lawmakers slashed funding for a dam repair grant program.

Since then, a 2024 ballot proposition delivered a $464 million infusion for the program. A Federal Emergency Management Agency grant also awarded California $629,198 this September, according to Jason Ince, a spokesperson for the Department of Water Resources.

But the audit cited estimates that repairing the state’s less-than-satisfactory dams could cost around $28 billion, making the funding a drop in the bucket.

The report urged state lawmakers to set deadlines and require dam owners with high and extremely high hazard dams — meaning ones that could kill people if they fail — to submit maintenance and repair plans to state agencies.

It also called for lawmakers to expand state water managers’ enforcement authority, and for the agency to use the full force of its powers.

“To ensure that the safety of the public is addressed before a dam’s condition results in an emergency,” the audit said, “the Legislature should amend state law to allow Water Resources to order the condemnation and decommissioning of a dam when Water Resources’ other means of enforcement are unsuccessful.”

Laura Hollender, deputy director of flood management and safety with the Department of Water Resources, said that the department worked closely with the State Auditor but disagrees with some of the report’s findings and recommendations.

Still, she said in a statement, they are carefully reviewing the recommendations and preparing for whatever El Niño brings. “Protecting public safety is DWR’s highest priority, and we recognize the critical role that dam safety and levee maintenance play in reducing flood risk for California communities.”

As the wet season approaches, the auditor also highlighted that dam safety planning statewide is incomplete.

The Governor’s Office of Emergency Service has not yet approved emergency plans for 245 dams describing what their owners would do to protect people and property should the dam fail. Officials told the auditor’s office that dam owners haven’t completed required revisions, and state law doesn’t require deadlines.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.